Demons in Modern Time
by CynderBaby
Summary: After a week of being unconscious, Jess is sent to her own time to rest up so she can once again fufill Sesshomaru's commands. However, only a day after her leaving, she's already pulled into a new adventure, this time with the young thrid heir of the Nura Clan.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I've finally learned from my mistakes and will only focus on one story at the time. Seeing how I almost never got a break unless I wasn't feeling well for writing. Anyway, you guys seemed to want me to cross over using Nurarihyon no Mago aka Rise of the Nura Clan. Since I used dubbed in the first story, I'll do it now as well. It makes things easier. Also, you don't have to read the irst story if you don't feel like it, but I really appreciate if you did. I give a short explaination on a few Things in this story.**

**Also, one more thing to address. In the Dub version of Nurarihyon, they call demons by their Japanese names, Yokai. However, since I've said Demon up to now, I'll do the same here. Just so that's cleared. **

**Another thing, people that I've already explained how looks, I won't say again. That way, I don't have to explain a lot more people that I've already explain. Again, makes it easier for me. But, without further delay, let's get this started!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Nurarihyon or InuYasha**

**Demons Pet Back in Action**

* * *

A young girl was lying on the ground, a cloak covering her body like a blanket and she was breathing very heavily. Her skin looked a bit pale and she wasn't alone where ever she was. A big wolf was beside her, trying to warm her body With his fur. The others who were in there was an imp, a young child and a Demon.

"She's been unconscious for 7 days now. How much longer is she going to sleep? Making Lord Sesshomaru wait like this is unacceptable!" the imp said, the child sighing. Sesshomaru, the Demon in the cave.

"Jaken, Rin, see if you can find more herbs for her wounds. Black Fang, I know you don't want to leave her side, but see if you can get some more water for her," he ordered, all three of them leaving without any objections. He walked over to the girl, sitting down beside her. He touched her cheek, surprised by how cold she was. "Seems like you still need healing, Jess. And after you put down your life to save mine, I can't do much to repay you." He said, sounding rather sad.

A week before, there had been a battle so Jess, the girl who was unconscious, could reach the full potential of her sword, the Blade of Demons. A sword wielded by Humans with no special abilities and is forced to serve under a Demon. Jess was the most recent wielder, and has already been through more pain than any of the ones before her.

In their last battle, Jess had protected her Master, giving up her own life as was more than ready to die. However, with the power of Tenseiga, Sesshomaru brought her back and the Four Birds, which were created of fire to allow her to have more Power, helped. After that, she's been unconscious and hasn't shown any sign of waking up. Everyone who knows this are worried if she's in a coma. Luckily, Sesshomaru's younger brother, InuYasha, doesn't know this so neither does his friends.

Speaking of friends, Jess's friends have been showing up more often seeing how she hasn't been at school for a week now. But since InuYasha and the gang don't know, they don't know either. Sesshomaru has been thinking about telling them, or get Black Fang to tell them, but he's decided she can decide for herself whether they should know or not. And she would most likely not tell them. Then again, maybe she would.

"Sesshomaru, over here," Black Fang called. Sesshomaru turned around, seeing the wolf with a pot of water at his feet. "This should be enough for when she finally wakes up," he said the Demon nodding and looked back at Jess. Black Fang walked over to her side, sniffing her. "Maybe we should ask Kagome if she knows something. They're from the same era," he said, but Sesshomaru wasn't paying attention. He was about to ask again, when he heard moaning from the girl. Sesshomaru got up to get some air, making him think he didn't hear it.

"Black…Fang?" he heard someone say, looking down at his Mistress. Her eyes were open, but seemed like they were very, very blurry. Her breathing had gotten more or less normal, but she was sweating and seemed like she was dying of heat.

"About time you woke up, Jess. You've been out for 7 days already," he smiled, getting the pot of water over to her. He saw a small cup inside and was going to get it and give it to her. But she beat him to it, getting herself a drink. "You shouldn't be moving around to much as of yet, you haven't recovered completely after that fight," he said, Jess looking at him. She took a gulp of water first, her body still very, very hot.

"You said I had been out for 7 days, meaning I haven't done anything of what Sesshomaru might want. I've rested enough," she said, Black Fang sighing.

"Sesshomaru would say the exact same thing I just said. He's been very worried about you, more than I would think he was. He's barely left the cave and was always making sure no Demon came within 10 meters of this place. Do you still think he would make you fight in your condition?" he explained, Jess looking shocked and somewhat happy. She didn't like making her Master worry, but she was happy he cared about her.

"I guess I'll just wait till he gets back. Where was he going anyway?" she asked, Black Fang looking at her. _She was awake when he left, and he didn't notice? Why did he leave in the first place? I would think he was just getting some air, but if she did see him leave, he must've known she was awake. So why?_ He thought, hearing someone behind him.

"Jess!" Rin yelled, running towards her. Jaken walked over as well, scolding her for making Sesshomaru worry and them as well. He was tempted to hit her with the staff, but he was very worried as well and just hugged her instead. After them, Sesshomaru came walking in and went over to her as well.

"How are you feeling?" Sesshomaru asked, after Jaken and Rin had stopped screaming and yelling.

"Better, though I doubt I'll be able to do anything for a while," she said, Sesshomaru nodding.

"There's only one thing I want you to do. Go back to your own era and heal up properly. It'll be safer for you there since there's no Demon there and you can recover with better medicine," he told her. Jess looked rather surprised, but she nodded and tried to stand up, quickly losing her balance. Sesshomaru caught her and put her on Black Fang's back. "You know where the well is, don't you?" he asked, Black Fang nodding.

"Yeah, and I'll make sure she gets home as well," he said, flying out of the cave.

"Lord Sesshomaru, what about those other Demons? The ones who were the Masters before you. Do they know about this?" Jaken asked, Sesshomaru not answering him. Rin was dancing around, happy Jess was up. After a while, Jaken was going to ask again, but stopped quickly when Sesshomaru opened his mouth.

"They don't, but it doesn't matter if they do find out. As long as she's safe, she'll be fine," he said, Jaken nodding a bit.

* * *

Black Fang landed neatly by the well, checking on Jess on his back. She had fallen asleep again, but looked a lot more peaceful than she did before. He smiled as he dived into the well, feeling the ground after a few minutes.

"Does she always have to go through this? Must get annoying after a while," he thought out loud, going through the forest as quietly as possible. Although, he unfortunately didn't have a clue where to go after this. He hadn't been in the modern era before, so he wasn't used to the smells and that he had to be careful and not show himself.

"Just go to the edge of the forest towards the west. I'll find my way home from there," she said, her voice very weak. He nodded and did what she said, seeing a few houses near where the forest ended. The smell of sea and fish made Black Fang's nose hurt a bit. He was a wolf with a very strong nose. "Thanks. Now make sure you're not seen," she said, Black Fang nodding once again. He bent down and she went off, wobbling a bit when she did get off.

"Easy, you shouldn't push yourself. I can get you over there," he offered.

"And what would my parents say when a huge Demon wolf carries me and I'm unconscious? Not a good first impression is it?" she asked, Black Fang sighing. She started walking, telling him to go back and tell Sesshomaru she's back home. He nodded and went into the shadows of the trees, while Jess walked over to the house near the water. _I haven't been home since I became the wielder of the sword. I don't think going home now is the best idea. Marie said she had told them I was staying over with her so we could work on some projects, but what am I going to say when I walk in like this?_ She thought, opening the door. She saw that no one was home, which was lucky for her.

"Well, now I can rest a bit before the loud band comes home," she sighed, going up the stairs and going straight in her bed. She flopped down, almost instantly falling asleep. She looked around a bit first, being used to watching her back all the time. She fell asleep after she knew it was safe, sleeping very peacefully for once.

After about 2 hours, Jess was woken by the scream of surprise from one of her sisters. She slowly opened her eyes, seeing none of them in her room. _Dad must've brought something home. Or they're screaming at something else._ She thought, getting out of bed and walking slowly down. She was too used to being careful and didn't make a single sound.

"Aw, it's so cute! Can't we keep it, daddy? I just know it'll get along with Jess as well," she heard her sister say, making her stop in her tracks for a second.

"I don't know, it doesn't look like a normal animal. What kind of animal is this, anyway?" he asked, Jess hearing her older sister.

"Looks like a cat, or a fox. It does seem tame, though," she said, Jess sighing as she walked into their view.

"You guys are way too noisy. You've just got back and already you're making a ruckus," she said, all of them turning to her.

"Since when were you here? You've been over at Marie for ages," her younger sister asked, Jess closing her eyes and wished she had just stayed in bed.

"I got back while you were out. And what are you guys arguing about?" she asked, seeing something in her lap. It looked like a cream colored fox, but was the size of a small kitten. _That fox could fit in my sock, just like Kirara._ She thought, making her think a bit. _Maybe…nah can't be. Demons aren't in this era, at least, from what I know. I haven't sensed anything. Maybe it's just an odd cat._ She concluded. Her sister noticed she was looking at her, hope showing in her eyes.

"Isn't it adorable? Dad won't let us keep it since it might cause trouble for you and your school work," she said, almost pleading.

"As long as it stays out of my room, it won't bother me too much. Besides, it's not my responsibility if it does something. That would be yours since you want it," she said, turning her back as she heard her yell in joy. Jess sighed and walked up to her room, toying with her phone in her bed. "Marie might be home now…I should probably tell her I'm OK. And Johannes for that matter," she said to herself. She found Marie in the contact, pressing call and waited for her to pick up. When she did pick up, Jess prepared for scolding that would make her ears hurt.

"You damned idiot! Why haven't you said a word for a week to either me or Johannes? Do you have any idea how worried we were? And Kagome didn't know a damn thing either!" she yelled as loud as she could, Jess putting her phone to the pillow and was still able to hear her clearly. Jeez, good thing I reacted fast and put it against the pillow or I would be half deaf by now. She thought, sweating a bit before putting it to her ear.

"Sorry, I haven't been conscious to say anything. I've been out the entire week, so I couldn't say anything. And I guess Sesshomaru didn't seem to feel like you guys needed to know about it," she explained, making Marie angrier and more annoyed.

"That damned Demon thinks he can just stay silent about you almost being unconscious. He thinks he's the boss of you, which-"

"He is, so live with it. I do whatever he tells me to, no exception. Besides, I think it was better he kept silent about it. What would you have done if he had told you?" Jess interrupted her, making Marie think for a second.

"I would've probably tried to beat the living crap out of him until he told me why. You're not gonna tell me, are you?" she said, making Jess sigh and answered no to her question. "Oh, by the by, we're going on a school trip tomorrow. You'll be going to school, I hope," she said, Jess waking up.

"Yeah, where are we going?" she asked, Marie thinking for a second again.

"Hm, I think the town was called Ukiyoe. I don't know, I wasn't paying attention. I'll tell you tomorrow instead," she said, hanging up before Jess could say something against it. Well, I was going to hang up soon anyway. I'm still tired. She thought, lying down on her bed. She was thinking about the town they were going to visit, wondering what kind town it was. She closed her eyes and fell asleep, no one bothering her.

* * *

Sesshomaru stood by the entrance of the cave, Black Fang, Rin and Jaken sleeping behind him. He was a little worried about Jess, even though she was in her own time. Seeing how no Demons were there. Lately, while she was unconscious, weird Demons would show up at nighttime, as if it was the only time they could come out. He had encountered a few, but never really bothered fighting or killing them. He thought them weak, but they still bothered him with why they were.

"There must be a reason they suddenly appear now. And why Ryuu was acting so secretive towards all of the other Demons," he said, looking at the moon. Lately, he's been going from place to place, his presence completely disappearing as he enters a new area. "Time to figure out what he's up to," he thought to himself, jumping from the mountain. Lucky enough for him, Ryuu was in the area and noticed him the second he landed.

"Well, that's a face I haven't seen since the test. How's your little puppet doing?" he asked, smirking. Sesshomaru looked at him, his eyes cold and a small sign of anger in them. "I heard that some time ago, she almost got killed trying to protect you. So, what's the kiddo doing this time?" he said, Sesshomaru turning to face him completely.

"If I tell you, you must tell me what you've been doing these last few moons. Is that a deal?" he said, Ryuu thinking for a second.

"Instead of telling you, I'll show you. You can tell me about the girl on the way back," he said, Sesshomaru agreeing slightly. Ryuu started walking, the Demon following him close. He looked around the area they were walking in, making sure he knew where he was. Ryuu just kept his look forward, stopping by a cliff. Sesshomaru looked around, almost seeing ripples in the air.

"What is this? It almost feels like the air is different," he asked, Ryuu nodding.

"This happened a couple of days ago, not sure how. But it almost like someone from the other side is trying to get here. I've tried getting through to see where exactly it leads to, but no such luck. But I've sensed Demons on the other side. It's almost like they're trying to get here." He explained, Sesshomaru looking at him.

"Some have already. I've seen a few around these parts. Must be breaking faster than you thought," he said, Ryuu looking worried and annoyed now.

"Hm, then we should be able to get through. Wanna give it a shot?" he asked, Sesshomaru nodding as they both headed towards the crack. Surely enough, it opened and they could easily get through. Not sure how long it would stay open for them; they just looked through, looking very confused. And made them even more unsure whether they should go through or not. The smell of oil and machine reeked through the entire place, and those two didn't know what the scent was to begin with.

"What a foul smell. I've never smelled a scent like this before, so this can't be connected to anywhere around our reach," Sesshomaru pointed out, Ryuu nodding. The scent of Humans were all around this place, but a small scent of unfamiliar Demons was mixed in with it.

"Well, where ever this is, we shouldn't go and explore until we know exactly what this place is. At least, no Demons should. But since there's such a strong scent of Humans, maybe you could get that pet of yours to explore it for you," he said, smirking at the end. He still felt like he should tease Sesshomaru whenever he got the chance for some reason.

"That's for me to decide, and you have no right to interfere with my judgments anymore in case you've forgotten over the couples moons the 'test' happened," Sesshomaru said, the two walking back as Sesshomaru kept his end of the bargain and explained what had happened to Jess.

* * *

Jess slowly opened her eyes as the sun light hit her eyes as the sun rose in the morning. _I've gotten used to the sun in my eyes, but the glass doesn't make me feel safe at all. Funny, how I feel safer in a cave than I do in my own house._ She thought, yawning and stretching as she moved to get on some new clothes on. Or, clothes that weren't bloodstained after her fight and protecting Sesshomaru. When she pulled off her shirt, she saw the scar on her belly, a lot bigger than she first thought.

"Great, everyone's going to notice this when I swim of something. That is, if I feel like getting wet to begin with. Anyway, should get dressed fast or Marie will have my head," she said to herself, finding a pair of clothes she hasn't had on for ages. A black, leather vest over a white t-shirt and shorts that used to be jeans before she cut them so they reached around the top of her thighs. She wore heel length socks and black shoes which were the same length.

"Jess, you up? Or are you hibernating?" her sister called up, making her slightly annoyed. She ignored her and walked down, grabbing an apple and went out. She was early, she knew that, but she wanted to explore her home town. Since she had been gone for so long now, she barely remembered how it looked like. And how much safer it really was here. If she had never gone back after remembering where it was, if she had just ignored it, she wouldn't have almost died. She wouldn't have been in this much danger 24/7.

However, she also would've never met Sesshomaru again. Or any of the others for that matter. Besides, she didn't mind protecting Sesshomaru, or being around him for that matter. She had sort of started feeling a bit stronger towards him, and he didn't treat her like a slave like most Demons would normally do. But he treated her like his partner, and wasn't expecting her to put herself in a death situation to protect him.

"I really need to stop thinking. Marie's right, that's gonna be a real pain if I don't focus and just keep thinking about the past," she told herself, arriving at school after half an hour. Which was later than she usually takes, meaning the thinking actually helped her for once. She noticed her class in front of a buss, noticing Marie and Johannes.

"Well, look what the dog let out. About time to," he said, almost getting hit in the head by Jess. Marie saved him, though, by almost hugging her to death. Jess just stayed silent as they all went on board, the three of them getting some of the seats in the back.

"Oh, and Johannes," Jess started, hitting him in the back of the head. "that' for your comment earlier. You should really watch what you say," she warned him, making him laugh a bit nervously. Marie laughed normally, Jess only sitting back in her seat and relaxing. Her wound hadn't completely healed, she figured that out when Marie hugged her. But something else was bothering her. She hadn't heard of this town before, which wouldn't seem like much of a surprise to begin with seeing how she had been unconscious for a week. But something told her this wasn't any normal town. And this would have something to do with the fact that she is the loyal servant of a Demon.

* * *

**OK, I'll stop here. There wasn't too much progress in this chapter, but it's the first one. Also, I'll probably write most of this story before posting it. So this is written a while in advanced. Anyway, leave a review, check out the first story and I'll see ya next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, back with another chapter! I don't have much to say other than I've got summer holidays while I'm writing this which might give you an idea of how far in advanced I'm writing this. Anyway, let's get going**

**Thanks a lot for the review Joemoe175!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or Nurarihyon no Mago**

**Enter, Rikuo Nura!**

* * *

The bus stopped by a middle school, which didn't really surprise them as much as people would think. Since this was a new town with different learning stuff, going to a middle school wasn't too bad. Besides, it wasn't like the students were going to introduce them to the town, but more help them if they needed it. Which they would most likely not. Jess, Marie and Johannes went together, seeing how the two had questions only she could answer. They had been here for around 10 minutes and Jess still refused to tell them what happened in detail.

"Come on, why not? What could possibly happen from telling us what happened?" Marie asked, almost like she was a spoiled child who wanted candy but wouldn't get it.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe you would try and pick a fight with you-know-who and get killed by doing so. Sorry, but I'm not telling you anything," she answered, not wanting to mention Sesshomaru's name here in the open. She noticed a vain pop on her forehead. Johannes sweated a bit himself, but he was on the opposite side of her, Jess in the middle. Which he was thankful for.

"You make me sound like some kind of short tempered moron who can't control her anger," she said, not happy in the least. Jess looked at the sky before answering her, like thinking about what she just said.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," she finally said, Marie losing it when she did. Johannes quickly went behind her and stopped her before she could start tearing her to pieces. Jess just kept looking at the sky, hearing chattering behind them.

"Alright, Kiyojuji Paranormal Patrol! Let's go find some Demons!" someone yelled, catching her attention Marie was still yelling at her and Johannes was too busy trying to cool her down. She noticed 7 kids from the middle school walking around, some of them looking rather bored.

The kid who had been talking had black hair, which was very messy around his face and looked wavy at the back. He wore a white shirt which are usually worn by students as a part of their school uniform, and a pair of black pants.

"Geez Kiyotsugu, try talking a bit louder, I don't think people heard you," the blonde haired girl said. First thing that any guy would notice was how big her chest was seeing how she was just a middle school student. She was wearing her school uniform, which consists of a blue skirt, cream colored jumper with blue sailor like hanging from the back, much like Kagome's uniform.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to find these Demons before they all come out at night time. Unless you want to deal with all of them later," he said, all of them shaking their heads. Jess narrowed her eyes at the one with the glasses, sensing something odd about him.

"Demon? In our era? I thought Demons only appeared in the era InuYasha and they come from," Marie whispered, Johannes nodding.

"Well, something's up. Why don't we go ask them?" he suggested, Marie hitting him in the back of the head. "Ouch!"

"You moron! We can't just flat out ask them! That'll be suspicious! Right, Jess?" Marie said, looking towards Jess for support from her. But her friend was already gone and was walking towards the group.

"What were you saying about Demons?" she asked very bluntly, all of them turning to face her. "I overheard you, no surprise there I guess, so what are you talking about?" she explained briefly, the brown haired one panicking.

"Oh, i-it's n-nothing, really!" he said, laughing nervously at the end. Jess took the time to study him a bit more. His hair was multi colored when she looked closer. Light brown on the top half, dark brown on the bottom half. _Hm, interesting. Never seen that before._ She thought, looking a bit more at him.

His eyes were brown, which was a good thing Marie wasn't here right now because most girls are suckers for boys with browns eyes. He was wearing glasses, but it didn't seem like he needed it. Jess thought his eyes were clear, nut dull enough to be needing glasses. He wore his school uniform, black jacket and black pants, but instead of the white shirt that his friend had on, he had a red sweater underneath the jacket.

"Really? What's your name, kid?" she asked in the end, the boy calming slightly down.

"Rikuo Nura. And these are my friends from school-"

"The Kiyojuji Paranormal Patrol! And we are looking for Demons, thank you very much for asking. Have you seen any around these parts?" he got really interrupted by Kiyotsugu, who had too much energy for his own good according to Jess.

"How do they look like?" she asked, Rikuo butting in.

"It's nothing really. We're really sorry to bother you. My friend is a bit obsessed with finding Demons, though he's never seen one," he apologized, bowing.

"Hm, being obsessed with things can actually be bad," she started, two of the girls rubbing it in his face. "but with something as Demons, you can never be too careful. Some are good, while some are bad. Better chose who to trust very carefully," she ended, walking off before they could ask her what she meant.

"Which means we shall continue on our search!" he announced, everyone sighing. Rikuo stared after Jess for a while when she joined up with her two friends.

"Something wrong, Rikuo?" a girl with brown hair which went slightly down her back asked, Rikuo shaking his head. Her eyes were yellowish and brown, khaki to put it more simple. And she wore the same uniform as the blond girl, who Kiyotsugu called Saori.

"No, it's nothing Kana. That girl...seemed a bit off, that's all," he reassured her, giving a soft smile at the end. She smiled back and nodded, another girl walking up.

Her hair was rather...odd to say the least. It was mixed with black down the ends until around the middle, where it would be a small mix of white and blue. There were two lines going horizontally in a wave like matter on the top of her head which were also black. She wore the same uniform, but had a white scarf tied around her neck and her eyes were blue.

"Maybe we should get home soon. It's getting evening already. Those people came here later than they thought, so they'll be walking around some more," she said, Rikuo and Kana nodding.

"Yeah, you're right Tsurara," Kana said, all 8 of them walking their separate ways. Except for Tsurara and Rikuo, who walked around the same path.

"That girl, was she really a Human? Or is she a Demon?" he asked, Tsurara shaking her head.

"I couldn't tell, but there's defiantly something fishy about her and her information about us. I'd say we keep our guard up until we know more," she said, Rikuo nodding as they kept walking.

* * *

Jess had been able to get away from Johannes and Marie, getting annoyed by all their questions. And she had a strange feeling something was a tad bit off. She had to be extra careful, since Sesshomaru still had her sword and she hadn't fully recovered yet. She had felt the presence of a Demon not too long ago, and was trying to figure out where it disappeared to. She wandered most of the town, aimless and no clue where she was going. But knew it had something to do with what does kids said earlier.

"That one boy, Rikuo Nura, he didn't seem normal. Not in the least. Something about him seemed very familiar. Almost like a Half-Breed, but weaker presences," she thought to herself, walking through the streets. It had already gotten pretty late, seeing how Marie wanted to drag her over the entire town. But, she was able to slip away.

"I'm telling you not to go near that thing. Who knows where it leads to?" she heard a very familiar voice said, from somewhere in the forest. She just stood there for a few minutes, trying to wrap her head around what she was hearing. IN the end, she shook her head so she wouldn't start checking.

"No way, how would he get here unless he's following Kagome. And if another school was coming, we would've known about it. I'm just hearing things…I hope," she told herself, but soon heard other voices which proved her wrong.

"Oh come on, InuYasha, it's not like we're trying to go and get ourselves killed you know," another familiar voice said, Jess sighing as she followed the sound.

"Really? Because going someplace we know nothing about is one way you CAN get yourselves killed! I don't care if you think you heard Sesshomaru's doll, we're not going through it!" the first voice yelled, Jess stopping at the middle of the woods. It looked like there was a crack in the air or something, and the voices came from the other side. What in the hell is going on here? I don't remember this being in their era, or sensing it here for that matter. She thought getting closer.

"Sit boy!" the second voice yelled after she took one step forward, making her stop in her tracks as a loud boom was heard. Poor Half-Breed, I actually feel sorry for him. Seeing how Sesshomaru is nicer to me than she is to him. She sighed, taking two steps back before leaping into the crack and landed smoothly on the ground in front of a group of people and a man with dog ears face down in the ground.

"Thought I heard you, seems like it wasn't my imagination," Jess said as she got up, looking at Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara.

"Jess! You're OK! We've been so worried about you!" Kagome cried, almost jumping on her. But Jess moved before she could reach her and she had to try and get her balance back.

"I don't see why. I don't remember asking you to worry about me. I can take care of myself and make sure Sesshomaru doesn't get hurt or killed," she said, closing her eyes as Kagome turned to face her.

"Not keeping yourself alive, though. You almost got killed 7 days ago, isn't that right?" InuYasha said as he got up from the mud, getting a cold eye from Jess.

"Why don't you just stay in the mud, Half-Breed. I don't need you to shot off your mouth about things you don't know," she scolded as he got up.

"Maybe, but I know your scent and the blood that runs through your veins. And I smelled a h\whole lot of it on that day," he pointed out, Jess not saying a word.

"In any case, we're glad you're OK. We were worried Sesshomaru had lost use for you and just left you for-" Sango hit Miroku in the stomach with her elbow before he could finish that sentence.

"That's enough out of you. Anyway, where does that opening lead to? InuYasha thought he smelled Demons on the other side, as well as something Kagome called machines," she asked as Miroku tried to get this breath back.

"Yeah, and since you and Kagome comes from the same time, and you just came from there, we thought you might know something about it," Shippo added, Kirara giving a soft mew to agree with him. Jess thought for a bit, wondering if she should tell them anything to begin with. Might as well, Sesshomaru hasn't told me not to say anything to them after the fight. Besides, what harm could they do to him since I'm going to tell him as soon as possible as well. She thought, breathing out slowly as she started explaining.

After about 5 minutes of her telling them what she knew, Myoga, the traveling and cowardly flea who knew just about everything, appeared on InuYasha's shoulder.

"It would seem her story has some connection to the old tales of a great Demon named Nurarihyon. He lead the Night parade with a 100 Demons following at his command. No one really knows where he is now or where is children disappeared to so they could continue the heir," he explained, Jess thinking for a second. _Rikuo…Nura. Does the last name have anything to do with this Nyrarihyon? If so, then I was right, he's no ordinary kid .I might wanna figure more out before I draw a conclusion. And I should go and tell Sesshomaru right now_. She thought, getting up and leaving before anyone could say a word.

"I'm guessing she wanted to tell Sesshomaru right away about this. Who knows, maybe he knew this place was here and sent Jess to investigate," Kagome said, sounding a bit worried.

"No, I would've smelled before then. She came from there without any orders, probably for school or something. By the way, didn't you mention a test or something?" InuYasha reminded her, making her sweat a bit as she remembered.

Jess kept jumping through the branches, completely forgetting the pain in her stomach until she pushed herself too hard and the pain made her fall to the ground with a big thump. She tried getting up again, her gut pounding from the pain.

"Damn it all, why does this have to happen now?" she asked, getting back on her feet. Only to start falling to the ground again and losing consciousness. She felt something soft and warm hit her face, her breathing getting heavier by the second.

"I told you to go back and rest, and you come back after a day? You don't like resting I see," a familiar voice said, her eyes opening a bit. Her body was too heavy for her to be as shocked as she was, seeing how the pain started going through her entire body.

"Sesshomaru," she said, her voice weak and trembling a bit. Her breathing wasn't calming down either, and Sesshomaru had no clue what he was supposed to do. He noticed blood going through her t-shirt, realizing her wound had re-opened while she was jumping. He growled slightly, hearing footsteps and the smell of Demon coming towards him. He looked towards his right, seeing a young man with blond hair standing by the tree.

He looked like a ordinary human, except for the fact that he didn't have a neck attached to his head. When he looked closer, the end of his hair was black. His eyes were amber, and he was wearing a black scarf. And it looked like he had been wearing it for some time. He wore a traditional male kimono, which wasn't too surprising. It was olive-green and he had a blue-green jacket over it. He also noticed red strings attached to it in some places.

"Who are you?" he quickly asked as the Demon walked closer.

"Not an enemy, my name is Kubinashi of the Nura Clan. If you want, we can take the girl to the Main House and treat her wound," he offered, Sesshomaru looking down at Jess. She wasn't going to get any better just lying and waiting for her wound to close again. It might get infected that way. He closed his eyes and nodded, standing up.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Where are you?" he heard Jaken call, both of them turning to see both him and Rin running towards them.

"When you didn't return as soon as you said, we thought something had happened to you. But it seems you're OK," Rin said, but lost trail of her words when she noticed Jess. "What happened to her? IS she going to be alright?" she asked in a very worried tone. Sesshomaru nodded, telling them both to stay here, only for to say the opposite right after.

"As long as they don't cause trouble for the Humans in the town we live in, they can come to. Better that then leaving them here while they just wait for you to come back from a place you've never been to," Sesshomaru thought for a second before nodding in agreement and the gang went. Black Fang was there too, but decided to just stay there and watch over things while Jess was unconscious.

* * *

Rikuo was walking through the halls of his house, meeting Tsurara in the garden.

"Ah, Young Master! Out walking again, are we?" she said, smiling brightly.

"Yeah, you seem to be enjoying yourself, Yuki Onna," he nodded, returning her smile. Yuki Onna was her real name, while Tsurara was the name she had while she was in the form of a human. In her true form, she wore a white kimono with really long sleeves, known as a furisode, and her eyes were amber.

"Young Master, Kubinashi went out a little while ago to check out that crack again. He thinks it leads to a different time in Japan from what he's figured out," another Demon in the water said, Rikuo nodding.

"Right, thanks for telling me Kappa. Tell me when he gets back so I can hear what he has to say," he told them both, the two bowing as he left.

Kappa had a large white plate on his head, making it look like a hat to protect him from rain, which was kind of ironic considering the name. Underneath, you could slightly see his black hair. His eyes were slit-like, and you couldn't see it now, but he usually has a ninja-like outfit on complete with tabi boots. His hands were webbed too, just like a fish.

"Isn't Young Master the best? He's always putting the safety of others before himself. The investigation was started because new Demons had appeared and killed Humans on the spot. He's always thinking about the safety of others!" Yuki-Ona said, almost sound like a girl in a fan club.

"True, but the Young Master also realizes the threat to the Household like this. The other Clans will think we're doing this," Kappa added, hearing footsteps coming towards them. They both looked over, expecting to see Kubinashi coming back. And they did, but their smiles went away when another Demon came into view with long, silver hair and a Human girl who was unconscious and bleeding. Yuki Onna recognized her, it was the girl from earlier who had heard them talking about Demons.

"What happened to her, and who exactly are you?" she asked, not trusting the new Demon.

"Relax, Yuki Onna. He's not an enemy…yet at least. He'll decide after he treat her. Help me get some medicine before the girl gets worse," he ordered kind of, Yuki Onna not wasting time and Kappa went under the water. Kubinashi lead the Demon to one of the rooms, a imp and a young human child following him.

"Why do you follow that Demon, young one?" Kappa asked, Rin stopping as he peeped out of the water.

"Lord Sesshomaru saved my life instead of leaving me for dead. I really admire him and he's always ready to protect me and Master Jaken. He may seem cold-hearted at times, but he's really caring. Which is why he came here to begin with, to help the girl in his arms," she explained, Jaken waiting for her.

"I see, then I guess I'll be seeing how caring he is while he's here. Because the wound the girl has is not an easy scar to heal. Both physically, and mentally. I can already tell," he said, making her confused.

"Rin, come along now! Lord Sesshomaru is waiting for us!" Jaken called after he stood there for 2 minutes. Rin nodded and ran off, saying good-bye to Kappa. He nodded and went back in the water without another thought.

Sesshomaru sat beside Jess, Kubinashi putting a wet cloth on her head.

"Once Yuki Onna comes back with the medicine, we'll have to leave the room so she can put it on properly," he warned him now, Sesshomaru not showing sign he heard him. He was just looking at his 'puppet' as her breathing was getting worse and worse. The door slid open, and Yuki Onna came in.

"The Lord of the Household wanted to see you, uh…" she started, Sesshomaru closing his eyes.

"Sesshomaru, and who is this Lord of yours?" he asked, Kubinashi answering for her.

"Lord Nurarihyon, I hope you've heard of him," he said, Sesshomaru giving one slow nod. He had, but didn't know too much about him. "I'll take you to him, you take care of the girl," he said, Yuki Onna nodded as they both got up and they left, closing the door. As they did, another two Demons came their way.

"Kurotabo and Kejoro, what brings you two here?" he asked, Sesshomaru looking at them both.

Kurotabo was tall, very tall in fact. His hair was a slight mix of blue and black, but it looked mostly black. He was dressed in a black monk robes, and a straw hat which was diamond shaped. Like Kubinashi, he was wearing a scarf, just white instead of black. He had an olive colored kesa, which are actually robes used by Buddhist monks and nuns, fastened by a ring around his robes.

Kejoro was a beautiful female Demon, with long flowing brown hair and brown eyes. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and covered half of her face. And the second thing anyone would notice, even if they didn't want to, was how big her chest was. Her

"We heard some girl had arrived with an unknown Demon. And I have to say, you're not too bad looking. I wasn't expecting you to be this handsome," Kejoro said, Sesshomaru not reacting. "I'll help Yuki Onna with the girl, you take them to see Master Nurarihyon," she said afterward, Kurotabo nodded as the three of them went towards an empty room with only an old man and a crow inside.

"Excuse us," they both said, opening the door and letting Sesshomaru in. He nodded at them, telling them to leave the two alone and they bowed before closing the door. Sesshomaru stood where he was, not bothering with sitting down.

The old man, who he guessed was Nurarihyon, was more or less what he expected. His head went kind of backwards from his face in the shape of a gourd. He wore a brown robe over a dark green kimono with traditional Japanese sandals. There wasn't too much to him honestly.

"Now, what's your name, and what business do you have here?" he asked, the crow flying to his side.

The crow was small, big surprise, and looked a lot like a sort of humanoid crow. His pupils were red, and on his forehead, he wore a dark red Tokin. He also wore a traditional crème colored robe, with prayer beads around his neck and tabi on his feet

"My name is Sesshomaru. That Demon, Kubinashi, lead me here in order to help a Human girl, is that so wrong?" he answered, Nurarihyon not satisfied with his answer.

"Why are you protecting a Human, you must have a reason for that," he said, Sesshomaru closing his eyes.

"Maybe if I knew a bit about what's going on, I might want to tell you," he said, Nurarihyon drinking from his tea. The crow, who was still there, looked very annoyed.

"How dare you speak that way to the Master of this Household? You've got some nerve!" he yelled, Sesshomaru not bothering with him. He was about to fly at him, when he got hit in the head by Jaken.

"You're the one who's got some nerve, showing such disrespect for Lord Sesshomaru!" he said, Rin staying outside of the room to not make things worse.

"Jaken," Sesshomaru said, Jaken quickly stopping.

"You as well, Karasu Tengu. There's no need to pick a fight. Now then, If I tell you what we know about the current situation, will you tell me a bit more about what's with the Human girl?" he asked, Sesshomaru nodding as he sat down, ready for a long explanation.

* * *

**Wow, this turned out a lot longer than I thought it would. I just kept writing and writing and poof: almost 8 whole pages for me. And I don't have big letters either. Oh well, nice to get it done at least. Besides, since this took me ages to even get out, it's good to have long chapters in the beginning. Anyway, leave a review, and I'll see ya next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, back with more and a sore bum. I've been sitting till for a couple hours now without realizing it. I need to go out. Oh well, that'll have to wait. New chapter coming up and this one might have less description. Then again, maybe not.**

**Thanks a lot for the reviews Joemoe175 and Jose19!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or Nurarihyon No Mago**

**The Deal**

* * *

After a long explanations from both Sesshomaru and Nurarihyon, the two sat there pondering over what the other had said.

"I would've thought the Blade of Demons was destroyed years ago. I didn't believe it would be able to last this long," he said, seeming very surprised.

"I don't see why. No one really wants it gone, normal Humans are just scared of it when it's in the hands of another Human who serves a Demon that they don't like it. Humans see it as a symbol of power, as long as it's not in the wrong hands. And what you mentioned earlier, about that being the cause of time crossing over like this. It's not like there wasn't connection between these two eras before," Sesshomaru said, Nurarihyon looking at him.

"So there's more connections like this?" he asked, the Demon in front of him nodding.

"At least two that I know of. One that Jess uses, and one that another Human uses to past between the different times. She's the descendent of a priestess with incredible powers, making it easy for her to come to our time. Anyways, about that boy…" Sesshomaru trailed off when he heard people on the other side of the door.

"Oh, don't mind them. They might be too curious for their own good, but they're loyal. Anyway, my grandson might be more helpful than any of the Demons when it come to Humans. Seeing how only a fourth of his blood is demonic," he explained, Sesshomaru nodding s he got up.

"I want to make sure she's doing OK. If I know Jess right, she'll be out of bed by now looking around. And those two girls don't have a chance when it comes to making her relax," he said, Nurarihyon nodding.

"I would like to meet the girl myself. So I'll come along. Karasu Tengu, you can take this imp with you and show him around. Jaken, was it?" he ordered, both of them nodding as Sesshomaru opened the door. Then, almost on cue, all the Demons who were eavesdropping fell to the floor and looked kind of nervous.

"Is this really how they behave around you?" Sesshomaru asked, just to be sure. But the old man was just smiling and nodding, leading the way to where Jess was. And right as they were walking near where she was, the yelling of a woman could be heard.

"We already told you to stay put! If you keep moving around like this you'll just reopen the wound again!" It sounded like Yuki Onna to Sesshomaru, another set of footsteps walking towards them.

"Grandpa, what's going on?" a boy asked, Sesshomaru turning to see Rikuo. He wasn't in the clothes he were in earlier, but a black kimono with a blue cloak over.

"Oh, hello Rikuo. I was leading this Demon, Sesshomaru to meet the Human who's traveling with him until I heard Yuki Onna yell. I wonder what's going on?" he asked, the door being opened with a lot of force as his answer.

"I only do what my Master tells me to, not some Demon who disguises as a Human to walk around the public," she snapped back, not noticing Sesshomaru.

"And if I tell you to rest until that wound of yours has healed completely?" he said, making her turn in surprise and almost looking ashamed of herself. _She's loyal, I can already tell. But a bit too loyal I think._ He thought, Sesshomaru walking towards her. "Get some more rest. You won't be able to do much with that wound keeping from moving too much," he ordered, handing over the sword he had kept for a while.

"Thanks, Sesshomaru," she said, bowing. Yuki Onna and Kejoro came out, noticing the sword and looked shocked.

"That's the Blade of Demons! How can someone as young as you have that sword? And how is it still around?" Kejoro asked, Rikuo looking confused.

"I have one question, what are you doing at my house? And this late, shouldn't you be over at the place your class is staying?" he asked, Jess sighing.

"You're asking the wrong person for that question, and I won't say anything about the sword unless I trust you or Sesshomaru tells me to," she added to the two girls. Sesshomaru merely closed his eyes, Nurarihyon laughing.

"Why don't we all just go and rest a bit. You can contact your friends and tell them where you are so they won't worry about you," he offered, Jess nodding. _Although they're going to worry anyway._ She added, but didn't say it.

* * *

Kagome and the group were by the river, Miroku trying to catch fish for their breakfest. Kagome said she wanted to explore the town Jess was in, just to make sure it was her era and Jess wasn't pulling some kind of joke. _Then again, I haven't seen her humor side since she's been with Sesshomaru. I wonder if sheeven has one. Either way, I hope she's OK._ She thought, gettingup from the ground and walking voer to Miroku.

"Catching anything?" she asked, Miroku smiling and nodding.

"Yes, should start making the fire now. Or InuYasha might gett annoyed that we're wasting time on something so simple," he said, Kagome nodding as Kirara in her big cat form and Shippo came with the fire wood.

"Good work, you two. Now we can start the fire," she said, clapping her hands as they started pile them up. Sango was furter up the river, getting some clean water for their journey. InuYasha was up in the tree, just watching them as they got all the food ready.

"Hey, aren't you going to help out? You're always so lazy, InuYasha. Maybe it's because you're a Half-Demon," he said, both Kagome and InuYasha looking at him.

"What is that supposed to mean, Shippo?" the scary thing was how close they sounded. You would've guessed it as just one person if it wasn't for the different voices. Shippo sweated a bit, Kirara turning back to her smaller form.

"I mean that because he has a mixed blood of a Human and a Demon, his laziness has rocketed," he said, not realizing what he was saying.

"And which side of it would be lazy?" she asked, Shippo innocently saying the Human side, Kagome closing her eyes.

"I'm guessing you won't be stopping me this time?" InuYasha asked, Kagome nodding as he beat the living crap out of the young fox. Miroku sighed as he brought over the fish and sat down by the fire.

"I won't start saying he should stop, because that was an insult to Humans. Anyway, we shouldn't start throwing stuff on the fire so we have to start it over again. And you should watch what you say Shippo," Miroku advised him, Shippo crying from the beating he just got from the angry Half-Demon.

After a few minutes, all fo them sat there and each had their own fish. Sango had offered letting Kagome take Kirara with her in case something happened. Kirara didn't mind either, she was all for the idea.

"Thanks a lot, Sango. I guess we'll have a solo job this time, Kirara. You guys sure you'll be alright?" she asked, all of them nodding and telling her they'll be just fine on their own. Myoga was jumping on InuYasha's head, trying to get their attention.

"Lord InuYasha, I have some information to you concerning Sesshomaru. It seems he's not around here anymore. My guess is that he went through that crack and ended up in that era where both Kagome and Jess lives. I don't know what he's doing there,but it can't be good," he told them, INuaysha looking bit unhappy.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. Since Jess is still injured, I think Sesshomaru won't be bothring anyone for a while. Seeing how he hasn't even been seens for a while after what happened to her," Kagome pointed out, Kirara jumping to her. She knew they were going to leave soon, so she wanted to be ready.

"Either way, be careful. We might have had a deal not too long ago,but he's not someone you should trust so easily. Besides, Jess looked perfectly healthy to me yesterday. So just keep your guard up," he warned her, Kagome nodding as she got her bag and went to where thecrack was.

"Well, shall we start going? She might be going there now,but we might find some useful information here as well. Seeing how the Demon Nurarihyon might havesomething to do with this," Miroku said, putting out the fire after he had eaten.

"I'd suggest going to an old villagewith a lot of history from when Nurarihyon was around. I don't know any other place where there might be some clues to him," Myoga said, Sango looking tense suddenly.

"What's wrong Sango, is there's something on your mind?" InuYasha asked, Sango nodding.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that we haven't heard anything from Naraku in a while? Isn't there a good chance he's involved in this as well?" she said, both of them thinking for a second.

"You're right, he's been way too quiet lately. We should try and figure out what he's got to do with this. Until we know more, we should all stay on our guard and expect him to start acting soon," the monk said, Shippo jumping on his shoulder.

"Maybe we should tell Koga about this as well. He hates Naraku just like all of us, and he's concerned for Kagome as well. Maybe telling him would be a good idea," he added, InuYasha not saying anything to that.

"You're right, we should probably split up then. Me and Shippo will go to the mountains and tell Koga what's going on, while you two go and see what you can find out about Nurarihyon. That way, we'll have more time to find Naraku," she said, Miroku and InuYasha nodding.

"The less I have to see that wolf mutt the better. Although he isn't gonna be happy about Kagome being on her own," he added, Sango nodding.

"I can take care of that myself. Come on, Shippo," she said, the fox jumping to her as they left. Miroku and InuYasha headed the opposite direction.

Sango and Shippo reached the base of the mountain after a while, Sango realizing just how long it was now without Kirara to help her travel. Shippo and walked a bit himself, but for the most part he was on her shoulder.

"Koga, are you here? I need to tell you something!" she called, hearing people from her right. She looked over there, seeing the two Demon wolves that always follow Koga around.

"Oh hey there. You're a friend of Kagome, aren't you?" one of them asked, Sango nodding as Shippo asked the question Sango was about to ask.

"Where's Koga, we need to talk to him," he asked, both of them sighing. They explained Koga had lost Kagome's scent and went to find InuYasha to get some asnweres about where she is. Sango sighed, hearing someone behind her.

"Maybe you can tell me instead. And you shouldn't yell that loudly, some very strong Demons might have wanted a snack and a Demon Slayer is always on the menu," the person advised her, Sango instantly recognizing the voice.

Koga was the leader of the Demon Wolf Tribe of the Easter Mountains. He had at some point needed Kagome's ability to see Jewel Shards to fight Demons known as the Birds of Paradise. Seeing how loyal she was to her friends, letting Shippo escape as they were held against their will. After that, he's constantly flirted with her and gotten on InuYasha's nerves.

He also swore revenge on Naraku, who tricked him by killing all his comrades and blaming InuYasha. He used a Dark Jewel Shard and was tricked into fighting InuYasha so they could kill each other while one of his incarnation, Kagura, sat and enjoyed the show. After Koga found out that Naraku was the one who killed all his comrades, he swore that he would kill him if it was the last thing he did.

He also had a role concerning the Blade of Demons. After all four Shards of a necklace needed for bringing out the full power of the sword, four Fire Birds flew from it and went to each their own Demon. One of them went to Koga. He was supposed to protect Jess if needed and could not hurt her no matter what. However, when Jess was on the verge of death, he lost the ability to use the bird and it was used to save her life just barely.

"Well, first of all, we should explain the situation. Then I'll tell you why you can't smell Kagome's scent anymore. Sound like a deal?" Sango said, Koga jumping down and nodding. As she explained, the two wolf Demons, Ginta and Hakkaku kept butting in and asking questions. Koga told them off every time as well, Sango getting annoyed. When she was finished and told him where Kagome had gone to, Koga went from sitting quietly to yelling.

"Well let's go and make sure she's safe!" he said, Sango sighing.

"Kagome's time doesn't have Demons, as far as we know. But I have sensed some Demonic aura from the opening between the two times. However, Kagome said she wanted to do this on her own and Kirara went with her just in case," she explained, Koga cooling down a lot faster than she would've thought. She got up and was about to leave, before Koga asked another question.

"What about Jess, I haven't been able to sense her since the fight and the bird left. What happened to her?" he asked, Sango turning with a worried look.

"I want to know just as badly as you do, but I don't have any idea of how to figure out unless we ask Sesshomaru directly. And I have no idea where he is either," she said, Koga shaking his head.

"There's one Demon we could ask, A wolf Demon to boot. He swore his loyalty to her after she beat him in a fight, so he should know what's going on. And I just so happen to know where he is," he said, picking Sango up and jumping quickly through the forest. Both Ginta and Hakkaku called for him to slow down, Shippo just going after them at his own pace.

Sango hadn't moved this fast through a forest before like this. She had in the air, away from the trees. But when she was Kirara were in the forest, she moved slower to make sure she didn't get scratches from the branches. But she didn't care too much, seeing how they got to their destination rather fast. As he put her down, a big, black Demon wolf walked out of the shadows and growled at them. _I recognize him, he helped during the fight 7 days ago._ She thought, Koga moving towards him without too much care.

"Hey there, big guy. Thought I smelled you here. I've got some questions for you concerning your Mistress," he said, Black Fang looking annoyed.

"Sorry, but even though you helped a lot when she was in trouble, I can't tell you much about what's going on at the moment," he said, Koga shaking his head.

"It's not what's happening now we want to know. It's what happened to her after the fight. I wasn't even able to smell her until yesterday. So, what happened to her?" he asked, Sango leaning into the nearby tree.

"She was unconscious for 7 days, she only woke up yesterday. She went to her own time to rest a bit, and ended up coming back here today and pushing herself too far. The only other thing that I know is that there was a Demon who said he was from the Nura Clan and said he could help her. I stayed behind while Sesshomaru and the rest went there," he explained, Sango looking worried.

"I sure hope she's OK," she said, Shippo, Ginta and Hakkaku arriving at the area after his explanation.

"Koga…stop running…so far…ahead of us," they asked, but at the same time told him. He looked at them not really paying attention to what they said. Shippo sighed and jumped on Sango's shoulder.

"Learned anything useful?" he asked, Sango nodding. "Maybe we should get going and meet up with InuYasha. He and Miroku might've found something too," he suggested, Sango agreeing and was about to leave, but once again stopped by Koga.

"And tell that mutt to stay away from my Kagome. I'll be heading to her era and checking on her personally," he said, both Ginta and Hakkaku yelling at him and saying it would be way to stupid. Black Fang got easily annoyed, walking away while the two were arguing with each other and Koga, who didn't say a word. Sango and Shippo were leaving as well, their ears ringing from the sound.

"Honestly, those two are so loud and yet Koga doesn't even take their advise. He's going no matter what because of Kagome. I have to admit, I wish someone was that protective of me," Sango sighed, Shippo looking at her with a confused expression.

"Doesn't Miroku care about you like that? Sure, he's a womanizer, but he's always worried about you as well," he said, Sango slightly blushing.

"How do you know?" she asked, Shippo smiling.

"It's pretty obvious that you're the one he cares more about. If he didn't, why is he always ready to leave any girl he's with to help you," he added, Sango feeling a bit annoyed at the last part. _Well, he does have a point I guess. I don't think I can recall a time where he just left me when he knew I was in trouble. I guess the stupid monk does have a comforting side at times, when he's not being a lecher._ She thought not saying another word on the matter.

* * *

InuYasha and the gang re-grouped in the village he and Miroku were exploring, though Kagome and Kirara were still in the other era.

"So, what do we know so far?" Sango asked, Miroku sighing.

"Not much, even though this town has a lot of old history, the only thing it had about this Nurarihyon is that he led the Night Parade, like Myoga already told us. The only way to learn more is to wait for Kagome to get back and hope she knows something," he said, InuYasha looking a bit annoyed.

"Why does that stupid wolf have to get involved with every little thing? It's not like he can actually do much in Kagome's era," he said, almost sulking.

"Not as little as you think either, Half-Breed. You're just jealous because he's with Kagome and you're not," someone said from the tree beside them, all of them looking up.

"Like you know anything, puppet. You're following a cold-hearted Demon who's just using you like a tool," he said, Jess narrowing her eyes and jumping down, almost hitting him into the head.

"Don't insult my Master. You'll regret it," she said, InuYasha ready for a fight.

"Why are you here? We heard from Black Fang that you had gone to your own time to rest up and heal over at some place called the Nura Clan," Shippo asked, Sango nodding.

"You didn't mention that," Miroku said, surprised by what he was hearing.

"We didn't see a point in telling you yet. Anyway, you plan on answering?" she explained, Jess sighing.

"Sesshomaru wanted me to tell you a bit about the Nura Clan, who's current leader is Nurarihyon," she started, everyone waiting with hopes for answers.

* * *

**OK, I'll stop here so I won't bore you with a long explanation this week. Anyway, leave a review and I'll see ya next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, back with more! I've been speeding through these chapters like nothing. Guess since the internet at my grandparents place is so horrible, I can focus on just stories. Anyway, I've got nothing to say.**

**Thanks a lot for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or Nurarihyon no Mago**

**More of Nurarihyon Info**

* * *

"First of all, Sesshomaru has made a deal with Nurarihyon that they'll help each other out until this mess is sorted out, don't even bother interrupting me while I explain. Or I'll burn you to smithereens," Jess started, everyone keeping their mouths shut.

"From what I know, Nurarihyon is the first commander of the Nura Clan. And his grandson, Rikuo Nura is the Third heir, which means his father was the Second heir. Don't ask what happened to him because I don't know.

As of now, the Demons from the Nura Clan are exploring this era and trying to figure out a way to fix this mess so everything can go back to normal. However, they haven't been having much luck. Sesshomaru said that Naraku might have something to do with it.

So, he sent me here in order to tell you something that came from the old man. He said that if anyone he could get his hands on hurt any member of the clan, they would regret," she explained, InuYasha huffing.

"Tell us more about this Rikuo, a weird name for a Demon," Miroku said, Jess looking at him.

"That's because only a fourth of his blood is actually demonic. He's not even a Half-Breed, yet all the full fledge Demons treat him with the same amount of respect as they do to Nurarihyon. Isn't that a bit strange, InuYasha?" she said, almost taunting him. InuYasha didn't say a word, Sango interrupting before this got worse.

"How exactly are the Demons hiding from the Humans, I don't think they're too hard to spot if they're not careful," she asked, Jess nodding.

"That's why some of them are taking the form of Humans, and they're not half bad. Other than that, they stay inside the household until it's night to prevent making people terrified," she explained, Shippo looking at Jess.

"And what about you? Have you recovered yet or are you still in the process of recovering?" he asked, Jess closing her eyes.

"I'm not answering that question. Whether I'm better or not, doesn't concern any of you," she said, turning her back to them and started walking away from them. Sango was about to stop her, but InuYasha shook his head.

"Don't bother, she's not going to listen anyway. And it seems like the wolf hasn't been seen yet or she would've mentioned it," he said, Sango nodding.

"In any case, she and Sesshomaru don't need our help when it comes to figuring out what's going on in that era. We can focus on finding Naraku and figure out what connection he has to all of this. And to finally get him back for everything he's done," Miroku said, all of them nodding and getting ready to leave.

Jess on the other hand was still in the era where InuYasha and the others lived. She had been given an order to find a Demon from the Nura Clan that went missing when this happened. Since Jess knew most of the place by heart, she could have less trouble finding him. She looked around, trying to figure out where a Demon from another time would hide in this era. _Probably somewhere people wouldn't go unless they have too. A mountain or a Demons territory. Or maybe even just a dead village. Where ever Demons have shown their presence, Humans usually stay away._ She thought, sitting up in a tree and looked at the picture she had gotten from Nurarihyon.

"How am I supposed to find someone this small? He could be just about anywhere," she said, sighing. Complaining, are we? A voice in her head teased, Jess shaking her head. _Not really, just a tad bit annoyed that a Demon this small went running off by himself. _She answered, jumping through the trees.

The voice in her head was the soul of the Demon used to make the sword, Flarenix. To clarify, the Demon had a burning hatred for humans, and was about to destroy the village of the creator of the sword. However, she defeated the Demon and used its soul to make a blade that she could use to protect a Demon she had met prior.

In the beginning, Flarenix hated every wielder of the sword and did what she could to get them killed, hence why the wielder only lived for about 20 years after taking the sword. Making them go sort of insane. However, over the years, her hatred has grown smaller and doesn't have any intention of doing something like that to Jess. First of all, because she's more loyal than any to her wielder. Second, she knows more about the blade than anyone but the first wielder.

Jess looked around, trying to find some small cave or something where the Demon could be hiding. She looked around, sensing a familiar presence behind her. She turned, seeing Black Fang walking towards her.

"You're doing better, or has Sesshomaru just sent you to do a small errand?" he asked, Jess nodding.

"Both, actually. Sesshomaru didn't want to push me too hard seeing how the wound opened just from me jumping a bit too fast. Anyway, do you smell any weird scents nearby? I came here looking for a small Demon from the Nura Clan," she explained, Black Fang sniffed the air and found the scent right away. He went to a very, very small hole near a big rock and moved the middle sized rock away and something instantly jumped on his snout.

"Ah, I thought I was going to die! Thanks a lot, pal!" it said, opening its eye and screaming when he saw how annoyed he looked.

"Get. Off," he told him, throwing him at Jess, who caught him rather fast. She looked at it, thinking it was a bit cute. It was very, very small. It had a small, orange kimono on, and had a weird head.

"Are you from the Nura Clan?" she asked, the Demon reacting to what she said.

"Yes, I am. Did the Master send you to find me?" he asked, Jess nodding and asked him what his name was. He said it was Natto Kozo, and he was one of the weaker Demons. He moved so he was on her shoulder. "Can we go back to the Main House now? I'm scared of being here," he asked, Jess nodding, not even bother to go against him. She let him stay on his shoulder, telling Black Fang to take care of this area while both she and Sesshomaru are gone.

"As you wish. Is there anything special you want me to do?" he asked, Jess thinking for a second.

"Hm…maybe look out for more unfamiliar Demons and figure out where they're from or even if they're helping. Also, keep an eye for Naraku. Sesshomaru thinks he'll have something to do with this," she told him, Black Fang nodding and taking the air. She walked for a few seconds before Natto Kozo asked.

"So…how do we even get back to the Main House? I don't recognize this place," he asked, Jess sighing as she went a few minutes without saying a word. He was about to ask again, when he saw the crack between the times. When he noticed the town, he jumped off her shoulder and ran through without another word.

"Honestly, how stupid can some Demons be?" she asked, walking in after him. As she did, she felt a presence behind her, watching her with hungry eyes. "Who's there?" she asked, grabbing the hilt of her sword. The person or Demon moved slightly, making sure she did know where he was. But doing so, only made her more certain and followed it with sharp eyes.

"You've got strong senses for a Human, I'm very impressed. But, that doesn't mean you can defeat me," it said, only making her confused instead of scared. She felt a cold wind blow, her body shaking a bit from the cold. "Haha! See, you're already trembling!" it gave out a big laugh, Jess sweating. _This guy is…unbelievable. Doesn't he feel the wind at all?_ She thought, hearing a scream of pain from the same place, Ryuu walking out instead.

"Well, there's a Human I haven't seen in a while. How have you been, pet of Sesshomaru?" he greeted her, Jess closing her eyes as she let go of her sword.

"That doesn't concern you, Ryuu. You Demons aren't allowed to butt your noses in," she said, still having bad dreams about it.

"So, no forgive and forget I presume. Well, should've expected that. And you should be glad I'm here and not Leopara. She would've been all over you until you told her what she wanted. The old man has told her to stay put," he explained, Jess opening her eyes and looked into his eyes. They were a lot kinder than when she first saw him, and he was acting nicer towards her as well. She shook her head mentally and turned her back to him.

"Well, I gotta go back to Sesshomaru, and don't get in his way. Or you'll regret it," she warned him, jumping through and still seeing Natto Kozo running like a maniac.

"It's not Sesshomaru I'm particularly worried about, to be honest," Ryuu said, after she was out of sight. "it's what Naraku will do in order to get what he wants,"

* * *

Rikuo was sitting on the floor by his garden, watching the Demons playfully chase each other. Some of the smaller ones were playing with Rin, the young girl who came along with Sesshomaru.

"How did a girl her age get involved with Demons?" he asked himself, getting an answer from the imp who was also traveling with Sesshomaru, Jaken.

"She was killed by a pack of wolves, and Sesshomaru used his sword, Tenseiga to bring her back to life. According to the creator of his blade, and the blade of his younger brother, Tessaiga, Tenseiga can help a 100 people with one swipe, and Tessaiga can slay a 100 Demons in one swipe," he explained, hoping Sesshomaru wasn't nearby.

"I see, and what about the blade Jess has? I haven't heard of a blade that connects Humans and Demons like that," he asked, Jaken shaking his head slightly.

"Well, more like making the Humans the Demons slave, not really connecting. The sword was forged a very, very long time ago. I can't say much more about it, and Lord Sesshomaru won't say anything else to begin with," he said, Rikuo looking a bit disappointed.

"Young Master, that girl is back!" he heard Yuki Onna call, Rikuo looking up and also seeing Natto Kozo returning.

"Young Master, thank goodness you're safe! I thought I wouldn't see you again!" he cried, jumping on his lap as he gave a warm smile.

"Welcome back," he said, looking up and seeing Jess walking towards where he last saw Sesshomaru. "Does she ever take a break? He didn't call for her or anything," he asked, Jaken answering.

"She has been unconscious for 7 days before we arrived here, and she feels like she's not been able to do her duty. So, whenever she knows there might be something for her to do, she goes straight to Lord Sesshomaru and get something to do," Rikuo looked at him, then back at where Jess was.

"Young Master, don't you have school soon?" Natto Kozo asked, Rikuo shaking his head in answer.

"No, we've got a break for a while. But I am going to meet with my friends in a bit," he said, getting up to go and change. Rin looked over at him, then ran over to where Jess was and saw her talking to Sesshomaru.

"You've got things to do with your school today, don't you?" he asked, Jess nodding slightly.

"Yeah, but it's just walking around the town, I don't HAVE to do it if there's something-" Sesshomaru got up and made her stop her sentence.

"You need to relax a bit more, Jess. You might've been unconscious for a long time, but that doesn't mean you're back to full strength, far from it. If you want to be more useful to me, you'll have to be in top shape and make sure your friends don't interfere," he told her, Jess looking at him. She nodded after a while, bowing before turning her back to him. "And Jess," he said after a bit, Jess turning her head. "Don't get yourself hurt," her eyes widen as he turned around and walked in, as she quickly jumped and left the Household herself. Rin smiled a little, going back to play with the Demons.

* * *

Jess was walking around the streets, trying to find Marie and Johannes. And so far, no luck. They had given her a text message that they were going to find out more about the town while they waited for her to come around. Since they knew about her being Sesshomaru's 'pet' as a lot of Demons called her, they knew she was doing something for him if she wasn't around.

"Geez, this is a real pain in the neck. Why do they always have to look around instead of just, I don't know, stay in one place. Or one time," she sighed, hearing someone nearby. She looked around, seeing a hospital and looked around it. She noticed a black haired girl by a small shrine, and a lot of paper cranes.

"There, that should do it," she said, getting up. Jess walked closer to her, curious by what she was doing.

"Excuse me, but what exactly are you doing?" she asked, starling the girl a bit. She recognized her as one of Rikuo's friends that he was with the other day. She wore the same school uniform as the other girls, and for some reason had cat-like eyes with dark green hair tied up in a pony tail.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't see you there," she said, bowing before taking a closer look at her. "Hey, I remember you! You're that girl that overheard us yesterday when we were talking about Demons," she said, Jess nodding.

"Are you guys going on another 'patrol' I guess you would call it? Seemed like you had a lot of fun the other day," she asked, the girl nodding, gasping afterward.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Natsumi Torii," she said, smiling brightly.

"Jess, I don't usually give people my last name so you'll have to do without it," she said, slightly smirking. _Maybe if I join the group for awhile, I might be able to find something important. Then I can do two things at once._ She thought, asking her afterwards if it was OK if she tagged along.

"Of course, why not! The more the merrier, as people like to say," she answered, leading the way to where the group was meeting. And it wasn't too far either.

"By the way, what were you doing over at that shrine? And what were all those cranes for?" she asked, Natsumi smiling.

"How about I tell you later, we're already here. I don't want someone lecturing me already," she said, both of them hearing Kiyotsugu talking in a very loud and proud voice.

"Alright Paranormal Squad, let's take a look at the sightings of Demons!" he yelled, Rikuo sighing, noticing Jess and Natsumi walking towards them. _Why is she here?_ He thought, Jess looking over at him with a sort of warning look. He knew what she meant, not to let them know that she had stayed over at his place. That would raise way too much suspicions.

"You again, form the other day. Jess, right?" he said instead, getting a smirk from her as she nodded.

"Well, have you come to hear about the Demons of this town? I can assure you, that you'll be in big trouble if you do not know what you're doing," he said, Jess only smiling.

"I was going to ask if I could join you for the day," she said, someone walking towards them.

"So, you'll be temporarily a part of this group then," the girl asked, all of them looking up. My name is Yura Keikain, and I'm a onmyoji," she said, bowing.

* * *

**OK, I'll stop here. Sorry for the sort of cliffhanger and the short chapter, but I'd rather continue this next chapter. And I'm way to tired and I wanted to finish this the night I was doing it. Anyway, leave a review and I'll see ya next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, back with more! I won't be posting anything next week because I'll be away. I won't be dragging my computer with me since it might get stolen. Sorry about that. Anyway, let's get this started!**

**Thanks a lot for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or Nurarihyon**

**The Onmyoji and Bloody Wolf**

* * *

Jess was narrowing her eyes at Yura, not too sure what an onmyoji was. She was wearing the same outfit as the other girls, but she had short, spiky black hair. Her expression almost seemed emotionless, but she could already tell it wasn't a face she always wore. She looked a bit frail, but Jess had learned the hard way not to underestimate appearances.

"Sorry for asking, but what the heck is an onmyoji?" she asked, Kiyotsugu answering instead.

"An onmyoji is a very strong Human who uses strong Spiritual Powers to defeat vile Demons!" he shortly said, Jess making it seem like she was confused, but knew very well what he meant.

"We also summon Shikigami, which I usually use," Yura added, Jess thinking for a second. _And if you lay a hand on Sesshomaru I'll burn you to ashes. Why is Rikuo, the Third Heir of the Nura Clan, hanging out with someone who fights Demons?_ She thought, looking over at him.

"Guess I'll have a lot to learn while walking around with you guys," she said, Kiyotsugu smiling a lot and started rambling again. She sighed, sensing a familiar Demons nearby. _Kirara? No, why would she even be here? Wait, didn't InuYasha say Kagome came here? This isn't good._ She thought, looking around. Rikuo noticed what she was doing, looking over at Yura.

"There's a Demon nearby. Small one, but a Demon nonetheless," she said, Jess looking at her from the corner of her eye. Kiyotsugu was getting very excited. Jess smirked when she moved her head again, making sure no one saw her. _I can use him to get going and figure out if it really is Kagome and Kirara._ She thought, looking back at the group.

"Why don't we go and find out? Might as well," she said, running ahead of them. They all called after her, except for Rikuo. He acted worried, but he knew she was going to see who exactly the Demons was. _Maybe it's someone from where that Sesshomaru's from. If so, then it would be best if she got him or her out of there. On the other hand, if she goes by herself, they'll get suspicious. _He thought, going ahead of them.

"I'll go after her, you guys stay here!" he called before being hidden by the shadows of the trees. Yura was about to say against him, before feeling the presence of another Demon.

"There's one more, stronger than that one. Let's go," she said, walking the opposite direction and the rest of the group following. Kana was a bit hesitant about who to follow. She was worried about Rikuo, and she felt a tiny bit jealous that he went after her without too much thought. She closed her eyes and followed Yura, wanting to stay near someone who knew what they were doing.

And the Demon they sensed was Koga, who wasn't used to having to hide from Humans. Seeing how he'd just destroy the villages anyway. He walked around, trying to catch Kagome's scent again since there was a lot of machines around that blocked the scent.

"Damn it, this isn't going anywhere. What the hell is that foul smell anyway?" he asked, sticking to the forest. He wasn't used to having to hide, but he wasn't an idiot either. He came here by himself, just going in the open would almost be like asking to be killed. He looked around, hearing footsteps walking near him. He looked up, seeing Johannes and Marie, the girl looking rather annoyed.

"Where did she go this time? I swear, she's way to used to walking around all over the place. She even opened her wound again and was stuck at someone's place, she didn't even say who!" she asked, Johannes just laughing nervously.

"I'm sure she's just fine. Maybe you should cool down a bit, Marie. Don't want anyone to think you're weird," he said, Koga laughing. _She already is._ He thought quickly, getting up and was going to make a break for it. However, both Marie and Johannes noticed him, as well as the group of middle students walking towards him.

"He's gonna get seen at this rate! We gotta get him out of sight!" she whispered, sounding rather annoyed.

"Sure, but how do you plan on-" his sentence was cut short by Marie suddenly pulling out a small hammer out of her purse. "Why the heck do you have a hammer in your bag?" he almost yelled, Marie not answering him. _Oh no, she better take it easy on him._ He thought going into the forest ahead of her. And right on cue, she hit Koga in the head with the hammer and he was knocked flat. Marie knew she wouldn't be able to carry him, so she grabbed his tail and started dragging him, a small line of blood coming from his head.

"Sleepy time, wolfy," she joked, seeing Johannes. She went past him as he went out, Yura and the gang showing up.

"It's around here somewhere," she said, Johannes hearing her.

"Um…is there anything I can help you with?" he asked, Kana nodding.

"Yura here says there's a Demon around here. Have you seen any?" she asked, Johannes shaking his head. He told them he'd been walking through the woods and the only thing he'd seen was a small dog with a dead mouse. He had to say something since there was blood on the ground.

"I see, thank you for your help. It must've gone another way then," she said, leading them around the forest. He sighed and walked in, seeing Koga awake and not in a good mood.

"What the hell is wrong with you! You can't just go up behind someone and beat them with a hammer!" he yelled, Johannes apologizing for her.

"Sorry about what she did. We had to get you out of sight somehow and talking to you didn't seem like much of an option. By the way, what are you doing here?" he asked, Koga cooling down and explained.

* * *

Jess was looking around, hearing Kirara calling to her left. She also heard someone following her behind her. _If it's that girl, then there's gonna be trouble. _She thought, going towards where she heard the noise. She saw both Kagome and Kirara, sighing slightly.

"If you're gonna wander around this place, at least make sure no one can actually sense Kirara. Honestly," she said, Kagome walking back a few steps and met with her annoyed look.

"Hehe, hey Jess. Guess some people are able to sense Demonic aura around here," she said, laughing nervously.

"And one of them happens to fight Demons. You should get back to where InuYasha and the others are. Staying here isn't gonna help much. Oh, and when you find that stupid wolf, drag him with you too," she said, Kagome looking confused.

"Wolf? You mean Koga? How does he know I'm here?" she asked, Jess explaining to her what Sango and the others told her earlier. Kagome sighed, not really wanting to deal with him at the moment. Just after she had finished explaining, Rikuo come out of the trees and looked around, noticing Jess's hair.

"Jess? You there?" he asked, just to be sure. Kagome gasped and Kirara started growling, but Jess gave them a calm hand telling them he wasn't their enemy.

"Yeah, over here. Did anyone follow you?" she asked, Rikuo shaking his head as he walked over to where she was. He noticed Kagome right away and saw Kirara in her arms, who was still slightly growling.

"Is this the Demon we sensed earlier?" he asked, Jess nodding as he looked closer at Kirara. He smiled slightly, Kirara calming down, jumping at him and started rubbing herself against his cheek. He laughed a bit, her fur tickling him.

"Well, wasn't expecting her to like him so fast," Kagome said, sounding very surprised.

"That doesn't really concern you. Now get back before you get into serious trouble. That Half-Breed can't protect you while you're here," she said, Kirara jumping off him as she said that, Kagome looking annoyed.

"Why do you always have to act like such a jerk. I can do whatever I want without having to listen to you," she said, walking off with Kirara in her heels. _She's gonna be a big problem. Not that I have to even care about her. As long as she doesn't get in the way, I'll leave her be._ She thought.

"Shouldn't we go after her? I mean, she can be in big trouble if she's left alone. Besides, the Demons that aren't part of the Nura Clan might see her as a tasty lunch. I know that cat is with her, but still," he asked, Jess closing her eyes and walking the opposite direction.

"No, Kirara can take care of Kagome just fine on her own. Besides, she's the one who insists on staying," she said, also telling him they should go and find the others. Rikuo nodded and looked in the direction Kagome went, still worried. _I'll go check on her later, if I get the chance that is._ He thought, following her. They quickly met up with the rest of the gang, Yura looking at them.

"Did you find anything?" she asked, Rikuo and Jess shaking their heads.

"No, and it didn't seem like there was anything over there either. What about you, where did you guys go to?" she asked, Kiyotsugu answering.

"Yura thought she sensed a more powerful Demon the opposite direction, so I lead the group with courage and fearless, but the Demon got away," Rikuo already knew he was exaggerating, so he just laughed a bit as Jess sighed. She looked around, smelling blood not too far from where they were.

"Did you find anything at all?" she asked, Kana sort of saying yes and no.

"Well, one of your classmates talked about seeing a dog that got a mouse," she explained, Jess looking very confused. And so did Rikuo. "I don't really know, that's what he said," she added after seeing their expression. The blond boy, who seemed to be always around Kiyotsugu, was looking around for someone. He wore the same uniform as the other boys, his eyes small and dark.

"Has anyone seen Tsurara today? I haven't heard anything about her not coming today," he asked, Rikuo looking a bit worried. _Tsurara…wasn't that Demon called that when she's in a Human disguise? What exactly is she doing, anyway?_ She thought, Rikuo quickly coming up with an excuse.

"I met her earlier. She said she had to do some work at home and couldn't meet us today," he said, trying to sound normal. Jess easily heard he was lying, but the others bought it. Yura wasn't too easily fooled, but she didn't say anything about it. Then, a strong presence from somewhere nearby, the three with the strongest senses getting worried.

"What was that?" Yura asked, Jess narrowing her eyes as she looked towards where the presence came from.

"Is something wrong? Are there Demons nearby?" Natsumi asked, Yura not answering. Jess didn't say anything either, Rikuo saying that they weren't sure. No one said anything while most of them were letting Yura think. Seeing how they thought only she could sense stuff like that.

"That's not a Demon, so why does it have such a strong aura around it?" she asked out loud, making everyone worried. _She has a point. I can't sense any Demonic Aura, but I can sense Jewel Shards. Why are jewels Shards here? Is it Kagome's? No, they're pure. These are tainted by evil, so they're defiantly not the same Shards._ Jess thought, Rikuo looking worried.

"Maybe we should just leave. I don't think we should confront whatever it is," he suggested, Yura shaking her head and Kiyotsugu going against it.

"No, we must bring fourth our courage and stop the troublemakers to make sure they do not hurt our town!" he said, almost like he was making a speech. Jess looked over at them, thinking they were all idiots. She sighed, the other girls walking towards her.

"Um…are you going with them or are you staying here?" they asked, Jess thinking about the same thing herself. _If I let them go by themselves, they might get killed. Whatever this is, it has to do with the era where I basically live now._ She thought, closing her eyes.

"I think so. Unless you want them to get careless and killed?" she said, all of them shaking their heads. "Then it would be best if all of us come along so they at least have a reason to be careful," she suggested, all of them feeling a bit scared first but nodded and got ready to leave.

* * *

Marie, Johannes and Koga sat in the forest, the two Humans trying to process what he had told them earlier.

"Well, that does explain why you're here. But wouldn't that mean that other Demons from your time can come through here whenever they please?" she asked, Koga pondering for a moment.

"That is very likely. Who knows, maybe someone has already come here. All I hope is that the band of Seven don't figure out about this place," he sort of said to himself, Johannes looking confused and worried.

"The band of Seven? Who are they?" he asked, Koga getting ready for a long explanation.

"They're seven Human mercenaries with incredible skills and power. As far as I know, they were brought back from the dead with the help of Sacred Jewel Shards that Naraku gave them. I haven't met all of them, but I have one at least that I recall.

His name is Jakotsu, and he has a weird sword which sort of moves like a snake. And he's the creepiest of them all, I can already tell. He's insane in my opinion," he said, Marie looking worried.

"So…if any of them came here, we would be done for to put it simply," she said, Koga slightly nodding.

"Unless there's Demons here to protect this place. Humans have tried going against them, to no success. So as far as I can tell, only Demons really stand a chance," he said, Johannes starting to think about staying closer to him than wander about alone now. Koga's ears twitched, bushes moving around behind them.

"What….is that?" Marie asked, something jumping out and making her scream. Koga covered his ears while moving away, meeting the eyes of a annoyed Half-Breed.

"You shouldn't sneak up on us, you stupid mutt," he said right away, InuYasha not saying anything at first.

"Like you can complain. According to Sango you were here looking for Kagome, so why are you here talking to these two?" he asked, Marie looking very, very pissed off. Johannes noticed it, and tried to make the two canines listen, but they weren't paying attention.

Then, the end of a hammer hit InuYasha in the head to get him low enough for someone to start almost pulling his ears off.

"Don't you EVER scare me like that again!" Marie yelled, holding back a little bit so people wouldn't hear her. She stopped after about 2 minutes, InuYasha's head hurting like hell. _At least he got a bit of pain as well so I'm not the only one._ Koga thought, almost feeling sorry for him.

"I don't get why Kagome thinks you're helpless when you're a maniac," InuYasha whispered to himself, hoping she didn't hear him. And he was lucky as well. After recovering a bit, he asked where Kagome was.

"We didn't even know she was here. Jess has most likely already found her if Kirara is wither like you said. Although, I hope someone else doesn't find them," Johannes said, both of them looking confused. "Some students seem to have made a club to hunt down Demons in the town, for some odd reason. And it seems like one of them can actually sense Demonic Aura," he explained, both of them getting up.

"Well then what are we doing here? We should go and find them before they get seen!" they said together, sounding scary in sync. They looked at ech other, Marie sighing.

"I wish Kagome was here now so she could shut you both up," she said, InuYasha was about to comment before sensing a familiar presence. _Oh no, not him again._ He thought, sniffing the air. Koga did the same thing, sensing the same presence. "Now what?" she asked, InuYasha narrowing his eyes and looked behind them, grabbing Johannes by the collar while Koga picked up Marie and jumped away just in time before flames engulfed them.

"Tch, you just had to move and make this harder for me, didn't you? Oh well, once I take care of you and find that girl with that blade, I'll be leaving," a male voice said, one that neither Marie nor Johannes recognized. However, both InuYasha and Koga recognized it.

"Renkotsu, one of the members of the Band of Seven," he said, Marie eyeing the man. The first thing she noticed was the purple tattoo on his face, not too sure what it was supposed to mean if anything. He wore a blue bandana, same color undershirt and a reddish-orange armor. He also had a gourd nearby which he could easily reach.

"Why are you here?" Koga asked, Renkotsu not answering. "Don't ignore me!" he yelled as a reaction.

"Why I'm here doesn't have anything to do with you. Now, why don't you be good and just stay put so I can easily kill you all right here," he said, taking the gourd.

"Both of you, get out of here now. You don't want to be nearby once we start to fight this guy," InuYasha said, neither of them going against him as they ran as fast as they could. Renkotsu didn't bother with them, knowing they wouldn't be worth killing. He focused his attention on Koga and InuYasha again.

* * *

**OK, I'll stop here. This one wasn't too long either…I'm getting lazy! But yeah, this came out a day early since I'll be leaving very, very early tomorrow. Anyway, leave a review and I'll see ya next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, back with more. Sorry for not being able to post last week. I didn't have any internet connection, and I've had to focus on a lot of stuff since we're soon going back to school so there was a lot I had to fix. Anyway, now that that's over, I've got a lot of time to do this. So let's get this going!**

**Thanks a lot for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or Nurarihyon no Mago**

**The Three of The Band of Seven Appears**

* * *

Rikuo, his friends and Jess were walking into a big area, sensing a strong aura from something that wasn't Demonic. They looked around, the girls except Jess and Yura seemed scared, as did Jiro. While Kiyotsugu was excited, Rikuo was very cautious about their surroundings.

"I don't see anyone, or anything unusual for that matter," Rikuo said, Jess looking around. She heard something in the tree nearby, narrowing her eyes. She though she saw a robe which looked like it was meant for girls. _What the hell?_ She thought, moving closer. As she did, something shined from the sunlight, Rikuo's attention being drawn to it.

"What's wrong?" Kana asked, looking nervous. Jess didn't say a word, nor did Rikuo. Yura looked over there as well, pulling out a piece of paper with something written on it. Jess noticed it from the corner of her eye, thinking it was her one of her Shikigami. As she lost focus on the tree's shadow, something moving fast towards her.

"Watch out!" he yelled, moving and pushed her down and ended up on the other side of a long, big blade. Actually, more than one. There were a lot of them. Jess thanked Rikuo for his help. He smiled and the weapon was drawn back, leaving a big line to probably say no one was going over it.

"Get up and run. We can lead whoever it is away from the others," she whispered to him, Rikuo nodding as both of them got up and ran as far away from the person. The others yelled after them, the figure following them close behind. Rikuo looked up, seeing the sun setting. Soon. He thought focusing on running again. The weapon once again stopped them and the owner jumped down from the trees.

"Wow, you guys sure are fast. I'm very, very impressed. But how well do you fight?" the person asked, Jess being very surprised and creped out by the appearance of the man in front of her.

The robe she had seen was being worn by him, so she thought of him as a cross-dresser. He robe was pink and looked like it had green leaves patterns on it. He also had a purple scarf around his neck, and purple make-up making it look like he was crying. The sheath for his blade was fastened to his back.

"Who are you?" she asked, the man not looking at her at all. He was staring at Rikuo. He was sweating a little bit, feeling weird with how he was staring at him. Jess looked closer in his eye, and she swore she saw a twinkle in his eyes. _What the hell is up with this creep? And what's he doing here to begin with, he's not a Demon in any shape or form. So why?_ She thought, Rikuo asking the same question she asked that never got answered.

"I'm Jakotsu, one of the members of the Band of Seven. And you're a real cutie," he added in the end, making Jess sick and Rikuo worried.

"Rikuo, I'd get back if I were you. I don't know whether this is true are not, but I've never seen you fight," she said, about to walk past him. Jakotsu looked very annoyed by what she said, not wanting to fight a girl from the looks of it. However, Rikuo held his hand up and looked back at her.

"I'll be fine, better off than you at the moment. You haven't completely recovered yet, so you wouldn't be able to hold your own for too long," he said, Jess narrowing her eyes. She looked up at the sky afterward. The sun was almost completely gone, making her think the moon was soon coming out. Demons are usually seen at night time. Does he have confident in himself because it's almost night time? She asked herself, looking over at him as she moved back a few steps.

"Thank you darling, I'll be sure to give you an interesting fight. That is, if it's long enough for you to see my skills," Jakotsu said, Rikuo looking at him with calm eyes. It was almost as if he wasn't faced by what he said. Jakotsu moved his sword towards him, the distance between them being rather big. However, the sword extended and went straight towards Rikuo and the area around him being hidden in smoke.

"Rikuo!" Jess yelled, about to go and get involved. The moon reflected on her, Jakotsu noticing her moving closer and a annoyed looked appeared on his face. He pulled his blade back and sent it towards her, Jess not being able to react fast enough to get out of the way. She used her arms to block, waiting for the pain.

But it never came.

She opened her eyes and looked up, seeing a katana holding the blade away from her. She looked at the person who protected her, her eyes widening as she noticed him.

"You're not hurt, are you?" he asked, Jess not really paying attention. She was too busy studying the appearance of the man. He looked a lot older than Rikuo, taller as well. His narrow eyes were red and always looked cold, despite the fact that he had a smile on his face. His hair was longer as well, the color being white on top and black on the bottom half, similar to the style Rikuo had. He also wore the kimono he wore while he was in the household.

"…Rikuo?" she asked, everything pointing over to him. He smirked and nodded, looking back at Jakotsu, who's eyes were sparkling with pleasure.

"Oh my, you look a lot more handsome now. Now I wanna fight you even more," he said, creeping them both out. But Rikuo hid it a lot better this time. She looked at him, noticing how different he was acting in his Demon form. He was more confident, not to mention he looked more menacing.

"Don't worry, you won't be enjoying this too much longer," he said, Jess not sure what she should do. And she was confused until Rikuo spoke to her. "You should go and make sure the others don't come over here. You'll only be in the way with the condition you're in," he said, Jess narrowing her eyes at him. She knew he said it because he was worried, but the way he said it made her mad. I like the kind-hearted Human better. She thought, about to do what she was told.

However, she heard someone walking towards her from behind, seeing another man walking towards her. She took a few steps back, her back hitting Rikuo's, making turn his head and noticing the newcomer.

"Oh, hi there Bankotsu. How nice of you to show up. I was just having some fun with this young demon here," Jakotsu said, Rikuo looking back at him with a scowl.

When she looked at his clothing, he looked like he was raised by a wealthy family. He wore a white shirt with a piece of armor. Underneath the armor was a blue patch. His shirt cuts off at mid-way on his forearm, with the rest of his arm being protected by gray guards that leave only his fingers exposed. His armor looked like a uniform with a blue fern design and black rims. A bit of a red cloth of some sort tied his shoulder armor to his chest armor.

His pants are long and bell-shaped, cutting off mid-way of the calf. The remainder of his leg down to his feet are protected by the same thing as his arm, reveling on his toes. His hair was worn back in a long braid that drops below his waist, tied at the end with a piece of white cloth.

"Well, seems like you're having a lot of fun as well. I guess the girl isn't getting involved," he asked, Jess looking at him and narrowed her eyes. She kept her guard up, hearing Jakotsu's bade moving towards her and Rikuo. Both of them moved away, Jess unintentionally moving towards where Bankotsu was standing. He quickly moved his arm around her neck, holding her close.

"Let her go," Rikuo said, looking over at him while keeping a ear open for Jakotsu.

"Why should I? A woman is always good to have around. Especially one that can assist you," he said, tightening his hold on her as she was struggling to get lose. "Not making her a member, but you never know when you need someone to serve you drinks," he added in the end, making her even more annoyed.

"I'm not some waitress who'll do whatever you tell me to. There's only one who can tell me what to do, and you're not him. Nowhere close," she said, regretting it quickly. He made his grip even tighter, making her unable to breathe. She tried moving his arm away slightly, but he was a lot stronger than her.

"You should be careful with what you say. I could easily kill you if I wanted to," he whispered in her ear, making her shiver from his breath touching her skin. She tried moving, but it only made it worse. Rikuo was going to attack him, before Jakotsu interrupted him and forced him further and further away from them.

"I'll take care of him, Bankotsu. You can get going with the girl if you want to," he said, smiling as he kept pushing him further away. Jess felt she was about to lose her consciousness, just when Bankotsu loosened his grip on her and let her breathe and she started coughing. Her coughs were heavy and rough, her chest heaving and falling as she was breathing heavily.

"Heh, you've got guts, I'll give you that. Sounds like you've been fighting against strong guys before. But that doesn't change the fact that we need a little waitress as you called it," he said, making her growl at him. "Don't be like that, it makes me sad. Just don't do something you'll regret and I won't hurt you," he promised her, making her worried.

* * *

InuYasha and Koga kept trying to get some hits on Renkotsu, but were having a very hard time. They also had to make sure they weren't burned to a crisp, even though InuYasha's attire would give him some protection, he wouldn't want to risk it. Even Renkotsu seemed to be annoyed by this fight.

"If you two would just stay put, this would've ended already," he said, still trying to hit them with his attacks.

"This isn't going anywhere, we need to stop him from using his attacks somehow," Koga said, InuYasha sniffing the air.

"There's water nearby, we could use that. Only problem is, how?" he whispered, Koga saying they would think about that after they've reached the place. They both jumped InuYasha getting a scratch on Renkotsu's cheek before dashing off. He knew he had to tempt him into following them, so that would be a good reason.

"You little fleabags, get back here right now!" he yelled, very angry. They quickly reached the water, Renkotsu sending fire towards them while their backs were turned. Neither of them could react in time, ready to get hurt by the flames. But, as soon as they closed their eyes, a wall of water protected them and went towards Renkotsu. He jumped out of the way, looking over at the water.

"I don't usually attack Humans, but you're not any normal Human either. You shouldn't be making a mess in this place, or else the Young Master will be very angry at you," someone said, a Demon standing on the water. Behind him was Marie and Johannes along with another girl, who was also a Demon. Tsurara had met them and called for Kappa to help out.

"You two were lucky I bumped into these Humans, or you would've been hot dogs by now," she said, Marie almost letting out a laugh. InuYasha smirked, as well did Koga, both of them looking back at Renkotsu.

"Tch, this just went the opposite way for me. And here I thought I would easily get my hands on our target," he said, sounding like he was thinking out loud. Just then, someone else jumped out of the woods and stood in the moonlight, both Tsurara and Kappa calling out to him.

"Young Master!" they said, Rikuo turning to meet their gaze, Jakotsu jumping out of the woods as well, noticing both Koga and InuYasha and looking very pleased.

"Oh, this is just too good to be true! Three hotties in one place, this is more than I hoped for!" he said, jumping around like a idiot. Both InuYasha and Koga sweated a bit, while Rikuo narrowed his gaze at Renkotsu.

"Why are you here? You were supposed to be finding the girl," he said, almost scolding the happy Jakotsu. He calmed down and smiled.

"Bankotsu already has her, so there's no need for you to get angry. We've got what we wanted, so we could just leave now," he said, Marie worried about who their target was. Then she remembered what he said earlier about a girl with a blade.

"If you've done anything to Jess, you'll be sorry!" she yelled, both Kappa and Tsurara looking shocked.

"How do you know she's the one they were after?" she asked, Rikuo answering.

"We were together before Jakotsu forced me back, making sure I couldn't do anything to help her. So it'll be hard to believe she's not their target," he said, not finished yet. "Although I would like to know why she's your target. I don't remember hearing she did anything to Humans,"

"Is not that she's done something, dear. Her sword is very powerful, and has powers a Demon could only dream to control. So, the one who helped us wants her power to be his, which is why we need her," Jakotsu said without hesitation, Renkotsu sighing as they both got ready to leave.

"Hold it!" Koga yelled, going after them in a flash. InuYasha quickly followed, Rikuo standing in place.

"Young Master, do you know who they were talking about?" Kappa asked, walking towards him. Rikuo didn't turn, but shook his head. It wasn't until he heard a scream from behind him that he quickly turned. Marie had been grabbed by a huge snake Demon, and she wasn't enjoying it one bit. Tsurara was about to help her, but it's tail threw her away rather easy as Johannes quickly ducked.

"Let her go right now!" Tsurara yelled as soon as she got up, the Demon not listening. Rikuo quickly drew his katana and cut it up, catching Marie and landing neatly on the ground. She looked up at him, blushing slightly.

"Uh…thanks a lot," she said her voice sounding weird. Johannes sighed in relief as he put her down, hearing footsteps walk towards them.

"So, this is your Demon form," a deep voice said, Sesshomaru walking into view. Marie quickly went behind Rikuo, still scared of the big bad Demon wolf. Although she talked tough when he wasn't around, she didn't have a death wish.

"Jess didn't come back and neither did you, so Lord Sesshomaru was asked to go and look for you. You should be grateful he bothered using his time on something so useless!" Jaken said, Rin nowhere to be seen. Jaken added that she stayed behind in case Jess came back.

"Speaking of her, where is she?" he asked, not sounding too happy. Rikuo narrowed his eyes, telling Marie to get away from him.

"Taken by someone calling themselves the Band of Seven. They said the one who had helped them wanted the power her sword had, so they needed her. I don't know where she is now," he explained, Sesshomaru looking at him with a cold stare.

"And you didn't do anything,"

"I couldn't do much considering I was forced back they the other member while the leader took off with her. Not to mention using her as a shield. I had no intention of hurting her," he said more specifically, His gaze not getting any nicer.

"And you think that you're going to make it as the next Heir of a Demon Clan. You've got a long way to go, boy. You're nowhere close to being called a leader," he said, this time getting a cold stare from Rikuo.

"Are you trying to pick a fight?" he asked, getting his katana ready an Sesshomaru drew his sword, Tokijin.

"To show how strong a true Demon Lord must be, yes. You need to prove you're the most powerful Demon in the Clan to be seen as a Lord. Even if you're smart of they respect you for other things, power is still everything for Demons," he said, both of them getting ready to fight.

"Since you wanted a test in power, how about we only use our weapons? That should make things interesting," Rikuo suggested, trying to taunt him. Sesshomaru's expression didn't change at all, he just nodded in agreement. There was a few seconds silence before both of pounced at each other. They seemed at equal strength, but Sesshomaru quickly pushed him away and strikes quickly again. Rikuo was able to keep his ground, but was having some trouble getting the upper hand.

"You're not even trying, yet you think you can lead a Demon parade by underestimating you opponent," he said, not really taunting him either. Rikuo kept his ground, but it seemed like Sesshomaru had pulled a nerve since he instantly pushed him off and was suddenly the one attacking. Sesshomaru didn't change his expression, just continued attacking. Neither of them tried using other methods.

Tsurara and Kappa were having a hard time not getting involved, seeing how he was the Young Master of the Nura Clan. Jaken was wanting to help as well, but knew he would be dead if he got involved. Marie and Johannes were fine where they were, but something else made them worried.

"How can they do this when Jess could be in serious trouble right now? I'm starting to think he's more concerned with proving he's strong than actually helping Jess," Marie said, sounding very annoyed.

"I'm sure he's worried about her, but Demons are used to being above Humans. So maybe because Rikuo is more Human than Demon, he feels he needs to prove he's stronger," Johannes said, sounding like he knew what was going through his head. But understanding Sesshomaru was like trying to read a book in a language you've never heard about.

Soon after Marie mentioned Jess, Sesshomaru quickly attacked Rikuo with a lot more force, pushing him close to the water edge. Rikuo tried holding his own, but Sesshomaru was a lot more experienced in fighting than he was. So the winner would've been him anyway. And because Sesshomaru didn't seem afraid of him, he couldn't use the fear as a weapon.

"Young Master!" Tsurara called, running over and forcing Sesshomaru back with her ice powers. He jumped back, and instantly after, he sheathed his sword. He didn't say a word after that, he just left with Jaken following behind him.

"What's his problem? He looked like he was going to kill you!" Tsurara said, not happy. Rikuo stood up, looking in the direction Sesshomaru had left.

"He got serious because he wants to find Jess, the one Humans who is very useful and dangerous in his enemies hands. He's heading towards where that crack is, going after them," Rikuo said, almost sounding like he was just suggesting it. Tsurara and Kappa slightly nodded, Marie and Johannes looking very worried about their friend.

They heard footsteps behind them, both Johannes and Marie turning really fast to meet Kagome and Kirara. They looked like they've been running really far, Kagome gasping for breath.

"What's going on? I sensed Jewel Shards not too long ago, so we rushed here to see who had them. But on the way, they just disappeared," she explained, Kirara in her big cat form and looking over at Rikuo.

"Someone calling themselves 'The Band of Seven' came here. They seemed to be after Jess's sword, but since she's the only one who can use it at this point, they took her with them. We don't know much other than that," Johannes explained, Kagome looking both worried and annoyed.

"Uh, those guys have been causing us trouble as well. Naraku brought them back from the dead with the help of the Jewels Shards, and now their causing trouble like they did in the past. We've already taken care of 2 of them, Sesshomaru actually helping us. But the other five are still around," she said, Rikuo looking t her.

"This Naraku, what do you know about him?" he asked, Kagome hesitating before answering.

"He's used to be a human, a very injured human. A priest called Kikiyo was talking care him, going to see him every day. He started falling in love with her, but knew he couldn't do much in his state, so he gave up his body to Demons in order to follow her, which created Naraku.

He's a Half-Demon to put things simply. And because he hasn't gotten rid of his Human heart yet, he can't hurt Kikiyo. He tried once, but he ultimately needed it back because he discarded it too early," she said, giving a brief explanation. Rikuo's eyes had grown darker as the story had gone on, not looking too happy.

"So he's the one behind all this trouble that's being caused here? If that's the case, then I'll have to take care of him before people get seriously injured," he said, Tsurara's eyes sparkling with awe and Kappa slightly laughed in agreement. Johannes and Marie also nodded, though they weren't that confident that they would be doing anything.

"Then, how about I show you where we can go and get him? You might wanna tell your family first, since we might be gone for a while," she said, Rikuo nodding as all of them went their separate directions.

* * *

**Wow, this chapter became a lot longer than I thought. Seeing how I had to stop for one day because I didn't have internet to really do the fight scene. Oh well, it makes up for the short chapters and the fact that I didn't post anything last week. Oh, and I'm really sorry about this, but I'm going on a month brake. School is starting soon, so I have to double check everything is ready. And I really don't want to focus on writing the first week of School. So I hope you all understand. Anyway, leave a review and I'll see ya next chapter! **


	7. Chapter 7

**OK, back with more! Sorry for not posting in a while, I've been too busy and gotten lazy. I'm starting to get less and less eager to write, which is a bit sad. Anyway, let's not waste more time and get this going!**

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Nurarihyon or InuYasha**

**Death of a Master**

* * *

Jess looked through the wooden window she was next to. After Bankotsu took her and ran off, he brought her back to the old era and then to some kind of temple someplace she hadn't been to before. She hadn't heard or seen anything from him, nor did she know if the other guy had come back. The second the thought of Jakotsu made a shiver go down her spine, Jess shaking her head quickly.

"I should be thinking of a way to get out of here, not about creepy guy who is very skilled at fighting with an interesting blade. But, how am I supposed to get out when Bankotsu took my blade? Can't really leave it here either," she thought out loud, making sure no one was around to hear her.

She got up, looking around the room she was in. She checked the door first, seeing it was unlocked. _This is too easy, something's wrong here._ She thought, slowly opening it and looking through the halls. As she started walking to her right, she heard two voices talking in a room not too far from where she was.

"Why don't we just hand her over to Naraku like we were supposed to? We're not Demons, so she's not useful to us," Jakotsu said, Jess keeping her mouth closed as she listened in on what they said.

"Because she could become very useful when we meet that Sesshomaru guy you talked about. Besides, just handing her over just like that wouldn't be too fun. And as long as he keep her sword here, she won't be going anywhere," Bankotsu said, Jess slightly sliding the door open to look in. Her sword was laying behind Bankotsu, who was leaning into the wall and had his body turned towards the door. His head wasn't looking there, so she thought he was looking at Jakotsu, who she couldn't see.

"Hm…that could work. I don't know how much Sesshomaru cares about his little puppet, but the power the sword has is very hard to give up so easily. And if she dies, someone else will have to become the Master of the sword. And Sesshomaru can't get chosen twice, can he?" he asked, Jess moving a bit behind as Bankotsu's head moved towards it. She looked behind her, making sure no one saw her.

"We could ask her, but let's wait with that. Renkotsu still has to come back, and we're still missing Suikotsu and Ginkotsu. Renkotsu might meet up with Ginkotsu, but we're still one short. I wonder where Suikotsu disappeared to?" Bankotsu said, Jess hearing footsteps coming towards her from her right, she quickly went around the corner and saw a unfamiliar face, thinking it was one of the three Bankotsu mentioned. He walked through the door, Jess slowly moving back the it, but not taking the chance of looking through the opening this time.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Ginkotsu is outside in case some intruders think they'll get in. A couple of Humans tried stopping us earlier, but they didn't last long," he said, Jess feeling sweating slowly dripping down her neck. She was a bit scared to say the least, especially since she didn't have any way of defending herself.

"Is that so? Ordinary Humans can be so stupid it's almost funny. But, their efforts always end in vain. Oh, I just remembered, can you hold this sword? Since its power is to manipulate fire, I thought you might be able to wield it," he asked, Jess almost letting out a laugh. _Idiot. No matter how well someone uses fire, they can't wield it unless I let them. And if I'm nearby, that's makes it even better._ She thought, Flarenix adding something.

"Nor can they if Sesshomaru sees them as his enemy, which I'm guessing he is. What is he doing, anyway? He doesn't usually waste too much time," Flarenix said, Jess not saying anything. She peeked inside, seeing Renkotsu going for the sword and getting burned the second his finger touches it.

"No good, huh? Maybe we could get that girl to tell us how we can use it," Jakotsu said, Jess moving back and hearing Bankotsu moving towards the door.

"Seems there's a lot we need the girl to answer for us. I'll go and talk to her while-" Jess didn't stay there long enough for him to finish his sentence before quietly running to where she was sitting by the window again. She knew he didn't see her, since his footsteps only now started walking towards the room she was in.

"I hope he didn't see me at least," she whispered to herself, the door opening as she looked over with a cold look on her face.

"Heh, still not happy with us taking you away from your Master?" he taunted, Jess looking through the window again and ignoring him. "Oh well, not that it matters. All I want you to do now is answer some questions about that little blade of yours. You'll answer without any trouble, won't you?"he said, Jess looking at him from the corner of her eye.

"That all depends on what you want to know," she said, even though she already knew since she listened in on them. And the questions they had weren't some she was going to answer, since it would be like throwing away half her advantages.

"Fine, then I'll start asking," he said, moving closer and sat down so he could get a good look at her face. "First, where does the power of the sword come from?" he started easy, Jess not really seeing why she shouldn't answer since every other Human knows about it.

"From the Spirit of a Demon that was killed many centuries ago. That's something every Human and Demon should know," she added, Bankotsu only smirking.

"Is that so, and how do you use that power? You don't look like someone who has spiritual powers," he asked, Jess looking confused at him. _He really doesn't know a thing, does he?_ She thought, moving her head again.

"Only people who didn't have any special abilities can use the sword, so there's no way I could've had spiritual powers. As for how I use the power, that's not something I'm planning on telling someone anytime soon," she said, Bankotsu still smirking. _What's with him? Is he asking these easy questions on purpose to make him seem like an idiot? Or does he really not know? If that were the case, he wouldn't be smirking like he is right now. Something's off. _She thought, not moving her eyes or head to look at him.

"So, what type of Demon is inside the sword?" he asked, Jess staying silent. She hadn't even told Sesshomaru that, and she told herself in the beginning that if there's something he doesn't even know, no one else is going to know until he does. So this was defiantly something she had no intention of answering. "Not going to say anything, huh?" he said in a low voice, Jess felling something on her neck. She turned and saw Bankotsu dangerously close to her face.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing?" she asked, already trying to push him away. Without much success.

"Why not answer my question?" he said, Jess moving her head away. He moved closer, his breathing touching his ear. _What the hell is this guy trying to get by doing this? Does he think I'm the type to tell him whatever he wants if he's doing something like this?_ She thought, flinching when he pulled her hair a bit. He pulled it hard enough to force her head back a bit so his breathe touched her cheek instead..

"It's not something I plan on telling you! It would be like throwing my life away!" she yelled in almost a panic, Bankotsu freezing up and moving away from her and looked shocked. Jess only closed her eyes, trying not to beat herself up for saying that.

"What do you meant, throwing away your life?" he asked, Jess sighing.

"If I do anything against my Master, it would be like throwing away my life. Even though I've never once thought Sesshomaru would get rid of me for that reason, but he's not the only one who's supposed to make sure I stay put," she said, also adding that she wouldn't be saying anything else on the matter.

As the sun was rising early that morning, Rikuo and the other members from the Nura Clan were on their way back to the Main House. They had a long night, fighting enemies and allies, as well as letting jess get captured. Rikuo still felt guilty since he was with her and in his Demon form no less.

* * *

Tsurara on the other hand was constantly talking about how rude Sesshomaru was for just attacking him and then just leaving before finishing the fight. Although the Demon side of Rikuo was very annoyed, the Human side was relieved that he chose to end it like that and instead go after those Humans that took Jess. He was more worried about her than his Family's honor.

"Young Master! We were worried something had gotten you! What took you so long to get back, and why isn't that Sesshomaru with you? And his Human pet as well?" Karasu Tengu kept asking questions, Rikuo making a fake smile as he walked past him and told him he'd be in his room. Tsurara was about to follow him, but Kappa held her robe and stopped her.

"The Third Heir has a lot on his mind, leave him be for a while Tsurara. A lot happened last night. Instead, you could go and explain the situation to the Master," he told her, Tsurara reluctantly nodding as she headed towards the hallway. But before she could even get close to where Nurarihyon was staying, two Demons were walking towards her. They didn't seem to notice her, and seemed rather relaxed.

"What are you two doing here? Don't you have work to do somewhere else?" she asked them, both of them noticing her when she did and were slightly annoyed by the tone she was talking to them with.

"You're one to talk. All you do is get in the way of the next Heir. Right, Gonzumaru?" the one with a skull thing on his head, the other one, Gonzumaru, only closing his eyes.

"That doesn't really concern us. What we want to know is why there's a new Demon that's been hanging around lately. Although I haven't seen him since last night. And don't try to pick a fight this really in the morning, Mezumaru," he asked, hitting his friend, Mezumaru, in the head before she could answer.

"He's gone after his puppet, apparently someone wants the power she has and abducted her. And I've got to give a report to the Master, so good bye," she said and left before either could say another word. She kept walking towards where Nurarihyon was, but just as she was about to open the door, a loud sound from inside stopped her.

"You're keeping this calm despite that someone that was supposed to be your ally tried to kill you?" Nurarihyon yelled angrily, Tsurara knowing who he meant.

"You're not listening. He wouldn't have killed me, he was trying to show that I had a long way to go before I could become the next Heir. And he is right, just making me see how right," Rikuo said, trying to defend Sesshomaru.

"Then where is he now, if he's not hiding because he betrayed us?" his grandpa asked, not really hearing what Rikuo was saying.

"He went after the ones who took Jess, like I mentioned before you got angry. You always forget what I say in no time at all," Rikuo sighed, Nurarihyon calming down suddenly.

"Oh yes, I was going to ask who took her before you mentioned your fight with him. So, he just left in the middle of the fight to go after them?" he asked, Rikuo nodding as he kept thinking. "Who were the ones who took her? Demons from another clan?" he asked after wards, Rikuo shaking his head. He told him about the band of Seven, and their scary skills to fight even against Demons. Nurarihyon didn't say anything after he told him, he just sat there and was in deep thought.

"Grandpa, do you think she'll be OK?" he asked after a while, Nurarihyon looking t him with a serious look.

"Who can say for sure. The girl is talented, I'll give her that. But without her weapon, she's not much different from a normal Human her age. So if she's defenseless, she'll be nothing more than any ordinary Human," he said, making Rikuo worried. "But, if she's as smart as she is skilled, she'll be fine. I haven't met them myself, so I can't say for sure. But I know a smart Human when I see one. And it seems like she's been through a lot," he said, smiling at the end.

Tsurara was still standing there, sighing in relief when they both came to an agreement. She walked away, no need to give a report since Rikuo sort of already gave one. She wanted to make sure Rin and Jaken were still here. She saw Rin playing with the small Demons in the Garden, Jaken sitting under a tree in the shade. She walked over to where she saw Rin, sitting down nearby.

"Oh, hello. Do you know where Lord Sesshomaru is?" she asked, Tsurara nodding, but didn't know if she should say anything about it.

"Yeah, he went after someone calling themselves the Band of Seven. They took Jess, most likely after her sword," she told her in the end, thinking it would be best for her to know. She gasped slightly, Jaken looking over at them. He walked over to them, looking a bit annoyed.

"Those pesky Humans have been causing a lot of trouble, and have already confronted Sesshomaru! Besides, that sword is only useful to Demons, so why would those Humans want it? Unless…" Jaken thought for a second before he started yelling in a panic. "Unless they plan on giving her to Naraku! He's already powerful as it is!"

"Who's Naraku?" Tsurara asked, Rikuo walking past just when she did.

"He's a very powerful Demon who possesses most of the Sacred Jewel Shards, which is a very powerful shard which with all together forms the powerful Sacred Jewel. If one Demon has the entire Jewel, his power will be almost unbeatable!" he explained, but was still in a panic. Rikuo's eyes widen, thinking about what kind of power was already in the sword. He narrowed his eyes and went to his room to change clothes, wanting to ask her friends what kind of power she as.

"Young Master?" Tsurara asked as she saw him running towards his room, looking very confused. She wanted to follow him, but Rin held on her robe so she couldn't move.

"Will Jess be alright? Lord Sesshomaru won't let anything happen to her, right?" she asked, Tsurara not sure what she was supposed to answer. She smiled and crouched down in a sitting position and told her that they both would be OK. She just needed to make sure she stays in the household area so he doesn't get more trouble. She nodded and went back to check on the other Demons.

* * *

Sesshomaru was jumping from tree to tree, seeming like he was in a very, very big hurry. He had heard from Black Fang, who had seen Bankotsu taking Jess, which direction he went in and had caught his scent again. The speed of his jumping was very fast, nearly no one noticed or knew he was there. He stopped by a cliff of some kind, a river, a very long way down, was running very fast and seemed rough. _If someone falls down there form this height, they won't survive. Unless they get really, really lucky. _He thought, hearing footsteps behind him. He turned his head a bit, seeing Jakotsu walking towards him.

"Well, there's a handsome Demon I haven't seen in a while. How've you been, Sesshomaru?" he asked, acting like there was no reason for him to be mad at them. Sesshomaru only stared at him, not answering. Jakotsu smirked, drawing his blade and pointed it towards him.

"Where is the girl? She's useless to you Humans. And Naraku cannot have the power as long as I'm still breathing. So there's no point in him trying to get his hands on her sword," he told him, Jakotsu still smirking.

"And as much as it pains me, I've been told by a young boy that Naraku wants you dead. So I've been given the job of taking care of you. Oh, it must be hard for you to die without knowing your little doll is still alright," he said, Sesshomaru closing his eyes.

"You're talking is pointless, I'm not planning on dying anytime soon. And as for Jess," he started, opening his eyes again. "she won't do anything unless I tell her too," he finished, drawing his weapon and attacked Jakotsu. Although he had fought him before, he didn't want to risk it with the cliff behind him. He was having the upper hand so far, but he knew about Jakotsu little 'trick' and knew he had to keep an eye on his sword.

Just as he thought it, Jakotsu swung it up and Sesshomaru had to jump to the far right in order to avoid it, moving closer to the edge of the cliff. As he kept swinging his sword, Sesshomaru had to rely on his own weapon to defend himself. _This can't go on for much longer, then they'll have a chance to get away. _He thought, trapping Jakotsu's sword with his foot and kind of leapt for him. Taken aback, he jumped back on instinct and withdrew his sword.

"You're suddenly in a hurry again, something crossed your mind or something?" he asked, sounding very surprised.

"I don't have the time to mess with someone as clueless as you. You're not worth my time," he said coldly, another pair of footsteps walking towards them. Someone jumped out of the tree and the leaves followed after him. As he landed, Sesshomaru noticed Jess being held by the person around the neck.

"Well, there's the Sesshomaru I've been hearing about. You've got a real loyal servant, I'm actually kind of jealous. She wouldn't say a word even though I threatened to kill her," he said, holding the handle of his blade with his left hand and tightened his grip on Jess's neck. She moaned a bit, trying to loosen his grip.

"What would you expect, she won't do anything if I don't tell her too. And as long as I breathe, whether she knows it or not, she won't choose a new Master," he added, Jess looking very confused by why he said that.

"Are you sure about that, Lord Sesshomaru?" another voice said, Jess freezing as she recognized the voice. She looked behind Bankotsu, seeing another person standing there. As she moved, Bankotsu's grip around her neck loosened a bit, allowing her to speak.

"You're…the one who pushed me down the well," she said, Sesshomaru's eyes going from the new person to Jess. He looked back at him and narrowed his eyes.

"Naraku," he whispered, Bankotsu looking confused. But before anyone could say another word, a beam shooting right towards Sesshomaru. Jess gasped and got loose from Bankotsu, but he instantly grabbed by her arm and held her back slightly.

"Sesshomaru!" she cried, her Master not being able to react fast enough to get out of the way. The attack in itself didn't do too much at him, but there was enough force to push him off the cliff and wasn't able to get up because the attack made his body numb. "Sesshomaru!" she yelled louder, shaking herself loose again and running towards the cliff, Bankotsu jumping ahead of her and caught her again. She looked down, not seeing him anywhere.

"There's no way he could survive a fall like that, even for a Demon. Maybe we should make sure he's not alive," he said, putting his hand on his forehead to get a better view. Jess was just looking down, her hair blocking her eyes. He looked down at her, looking rather worried about her.

"I can go and check while you two take her to someplace InuYasha and the others can't get to," Jakotsu said, Jess opening her mouth.

"I'm not going anywhere," the two of them looked down at her, Naraku moving closer to them. "Didn't you hear what Sesshomaru said? I'm not choosing a new Master until I've seen with my own eyes that he's really dead. Until then, I'm not going with you," she said, getting up and jumped down to a shelf on the cliff below her.

"Oh no you don't," Bankotsu said, about to jump down after her. But someone beat him to it, a stranger to them jumping down and picked her up and went away from where she was.

"Let go!" she yelled, trying to get lose.

"Going to look by yourself will get yourself killed, which isn't something Sesshomaru wants," the person said, Jess recognizing the voice. It was Ryuu, but she didn't know why he was here. "You'd better stay with us until we can figure out what happened to him. And don't worry, your blade has been picked up by Leopara who isn't too happy about you getting caught. But you're condition is more my concern at this moment," he explained, Jess's eyes going blank.

* * *

**Ohhh kay, that's one way to start and end a chapter after a month. And school is being way, WAY too busy for me, so I might not be able to post in a schedule like I would love to. I'll write as often as I can, but I don't think I'll be able to post like I wished. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review and I'll see ya next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, back with more. I've been really busy with school and this so schedule isn't going to be held. Sorry, but I'm way too busy and barely have any time. Anyway, I'll post whenever I can. So let's get this started!**

**Thanks a lot for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or Nurarihyon**

**Alive or Dead?**

* * *

Jess was sitting by the entrance to a cave, her eyes distant and blank like a dead fish and staring out into nothing. Black Fang was behind her, who heard from Ryuu what had happened. He knew Jess would be like this for a while, and thought he should go and make sure Sesshomaru is dead or not. On the other hand, he didn't want to leave her by herself in this state. Ryuu said he would go and look since Naraku getting the sword would cause trouble for them. Black Fang only agreed because he knew Jess wouldn't be able to move to a safer location.

"This entire situation is a mess. If Naraku hadn't been so hungry for power, and if Sesshomaru had been more careful, this wouldn't be happening," he said to himself, making sure she didn't hear him. He knew she was blaming herself since he was her Master and her job to make sure he didn't die.

"Well, she's a sight of sore eyes. Guess she's in a really bad shape like Ryuu said," a male voice said, Black Fang looking behind him and saw Sajime walking towards him.

"You've got no clue. She's been like this since morning. I'm starting to worry she might not be able to talk at the moment. Until she knows for sure what happened to him that is. And for once, I wish he's still alive," he explained, Sajime nodding.

"If not, then she won't be getting better anytime soon. In fact, she might get worse. Leopara and the others were going to take a look around the area, but only a little. SO we're going have to get her back on her feet sooner or later," he said, Black Fang nodding as he looked over at Jess. She hadn't moved a muscle, nor did it look like she would any time soon.

"I just hope when she does get her senses back, she'll be no match against Naraku like this," he said, Sajime frowning.

"Yes, there's that as well. We'll have to keep a closer eye on her until we know what happened to him. And if the worse happen, then she either has to chose a new Master, or end her contract," he said, Black Fang not looking too positive. "And from her state, I can already tell which one she'll chose,"

"Anyone would be able to know, so why is Naraku so sure he'll be able to get his hands on the sword. The Band of Seven aren't qualified to wield it because they're not plain Human. Jess was before she pulled it," Black Fang said, Sajime thinking about what he said for a second.

"You're making a good point. I'll see if I can dig something up," he said as he turned his back to him. "And I know I don't have to say this, but don't leave her alone," he said, Black Fang closing his eyes and nodded once, walking over to Jess as the Demon left.

"I heard everything you said, Black Fang. And you should know better than anyone that picking a new Master isn't going to happen," she said, Black Fang sighing and was kind of happy to hear her voice.

"I know, but I'm not going to let you die so easily either. Just let them handle things and you can get your energy back," he suggested, Jess instantly getting up.

"I'm not going to rely on someone I don't trust to do something I'm supposed to do. Whether or not you like it, I'm finding Sesshomaru by myself. I honestly don't care if you follow me or not," she said, Black Fang instantly noticing she wasn't herself. She was acting the exact opposite of what she would usually act.

"Fine, then I'll follow you as you try and find him. But if Naraku shows up, I'm dragging you away without hesitation. Got it?" he said, Jess not answering as he looked up in her eyes. They were a bit clearer, but still not how they should be. This better not make her worse. He thought, kneeling down so Jess could climb on. Although she said she was going by herself, she knew he would follow her.

Surprising, she actually went on his back without questions as he took to the sky and flew to where they both last saw him. Since the mountain was far from there, it took a long time. And as they flew, Jess saw someone from the corner of her eye, floating on a feather it looked like.

"Who's that?" she asked, Black Fang looking over there. He growled as he told her that the scent from the newcomer was the same scent he picked up from Naraku. Worried about his Mistress, he instantly dived down to hide in the trees, being careful with his wings. Soon, he was forced to land and stay put until the Demon has passed them by. When it did, Jess noticed it was a female and looked nothing like Naraku.

"She's a part of him, a reincarnation I guess you could say. Let's just go slow from here. I know you want to find that troublesome Demon, but we can't get caught," he said, putting more effort into the word "troublesome", making Jess annoyed.

"You would've been the same way if you were me," she said simply, going into the clearing where he fell off the cliff. Not in the state of shock like she was before, and the air being more than it was yesterday. So it was very, very foggy and hard to see. She could see about 5 meters in front of her, but that was it.

"Climbing down would be safest with the fog as it is, it's too hard to see if you're flying," he said, Jess agreeing. She stepped on the first shelf on the cliff, already noticing how wet it was from the fog. Knowing she might slip, she went carefully down she wouldn't get herself in trouble before she kept going. Black Fang followed slowly after her, making sure not to be too far, nor too close so it wouldn't brake.

As they kept going downwards, she started hearing the sound of roaring water clashing with the cliffs. Black Fang told her there was a river down there that he saw yesterday. Although it wasn't big, it was certainly making a lot of noise. Jess, a bit more worried now, started subconsciously going faster down the cliff.

"Easy, you'll fall. I know you want to know if he's alive or not, but killing yourself isn't going to get you anywhere. I already told you I can't fly since I can't see what's in front of me," he scolded her, Jess looking upset. She did what he told her, but didn't really talk after that until they've been climbing for about 10 minutes.

"I still don't see anything. Was this cliff really that far from the ground?" she asked, the cliff getting wetter as they went down.

"I wouldn't think so, it didn't seem as deep. Maybe going further down wouldn't be a good idea," he said, Jess ignoring the last part as she continued down. _This girl s going to get herself killed before she even finds out what happened to him._ He thought, stepping lightly on the next shelf. Just as his thoughts stopped, they both heard rocks falling down from about them, looking up to see what was going on.

"Please tell me I'm the only one who heard that," she said, Black Fang growling as he moved a little faster to her side.

"Better find a safer place, though that would be easier said than done," he suggested, Jess nodding once and tried moving a bit faster. However, she quickly slipped and stared falling down the cliff. Before she even got time to scream, her back hit the ground and she lost her breath and let out a loud gasp. Black Fang heard her and landed neatly on the ground above her as a huge boulder came tumbling down, hitting him right in the back as he tried not to crush her. He soon lost consciousness and landed by her side with his paw in her stomach.

* * *

Rikuo was walking around , trying to find where the others had come in so he could go and make sure they were alright. _If this Naraku gets his hands on that word, he'll start causing trouble for us as well since he knows we're here._ He thought, seeing a familiar face.

"Kubinashi, what are you doing here?" he asked, walking up to his subordinate.

"Oh, Young Master. I saw some odd Humans jump through here into the era where that Lord Sesshomaru is from. I was wondering if something was going on," he explained, Rikuo nodded as he explained the situation to him. As soon as he did, they both decided on going through the crack and make sure they're OK. As they walked up to it, Kubinashi had a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, the Demon turning to him.

"It's gotten smaller, if was a lot bigger before," he explained, Rikuo looking shocked and looked back at the crack closely. Sure enough, there were thin lines showing where the cracks went to before.

"Wonder why. We should make sure everyone is where they're supposed to be before it's completely gone," he said, Kubinashi nodding. Just as the two were going through they heard a female voice call them from behind, both of them turning. Kagome was running towards them with Kirara in her arms.

"I'll come with you, Kirara's been uneasy lately and I think it's because of this place," she said, Rikuo smiling and nodded as the four went through. Once they passed through, Kirara jumped out of her arms and transformed into her bigger from.

"Whoa, wasn't expecting that," Kubinashi said, patting her head. Kagome smiled as she said she was going to meet up with her friends. InuYasha and Koga had returned before her so she needed to let them know she was back.

"OK, just be careful," Rikuo said, Kagome nodding. Kirara took to the sky and Rikuo looked around, trying to think of where they would go next.

"Young Master!" someone called behind them, Rikuo turning around to see Tsurara and three other Demons. The other Demons were Aotabo, Kurotabo and Kejoro "You shouldn't just leave without telling us! We would've searched the entire town for you!" she sort of scolded him, the others nodding. Rikuo slightly smiled and gave a shaky laugh.

"Sorry, guess I was in a bit of a hurry. Thanks you all for coming here," he said, smiling normally. All of them nodded as Rikuo was still thinking of which way to go. "Let's go this way and have a look. If we find either Sesshomaru or Jess, then we can figure out what exactly happened," he said, pointing to the left. It was the opposite way that Kagome and Kirara went.

"Sounds like a plan. We should keep our guard up since we don't know how things work here," Kurotabo said, everyone nodding. Rikuo walked first, all of them close behind him in case something happened to him while they were walking to wherever they were heading. Although he knew Jess and Sesshomaru were strong, he was mostly worried about that Naraku he heard about from the conversation Tsurara had with Rin and Jaken.

"Where could they be, it'll take forever to find them in a place like this. Being out in the sun long won't be good for my skin," Kejoro said in a whining voice, holding her hand up to her face to look.

"Then why didn't you just stay back at the main house? You knew we would be going around outside," Aotoba asked, not understanding why she was complaining.

"Because the Young Master could be in danger. I know you're strong and all Aotoba, but what if he's somewhere you can't even get to him. My hair would be useful then. Oh, and I have something to tell you, Young Master. I can't believe I didn't remember this sooner," she said, Rikuo looking back as she ran up to his side since they didn't want to stop. "Shoei hasn't been seen the last couple of days, even before Sesshomaru came,"

"Really? No one knows where he is?" he asked, Kejoro shaking her head. "That's odd. Where could he be. I don't think he would just wander into an area completely clueless, unless he was acting like he was after Hihi died," he said, Tsurara and the others catching up a bit.

"Where do you think we should start looking, Young Master? We don't really know this place, so we shouldn't move too far away. Or we won't be able to find out way back," she said, Rikuo nodding, but it didn't seem like he was paying really much attention. Which kind of made Tsurara annoyed.

"Relax, I've been in this area for some time now and gotten to know some of this place. So us getting lost while going in this direction isn't as likely as it would be if we went another way. So you can take it easy," Kubinashi said, Tsurara looking a bit less worried and annoyed, though she wasn't completely sure yet.

"So, we'll be able to get back without getting lost?" Aotabo asked, Kubinashi nodding.

"We still shouldn't let our guard down. Anything could happen in a place like this. So don't think this makes it less dangerous," Kurotabo said, all of them slightly nodding.

* * *

Jess slowly opened her eyes, her back aching in pain and feeling something heavy on her stomach. She tried moving a bit, but the pain in her back made it hard for her to do much of anything. The extra weight didn't help much either. Her vision was blurry so she wasn't able to really see. All she saw was black fur.

"Argh, man that hurt," she moaned, trying to turn on her side to get whatever was on her stomach off. However, it only made the pain worse. And whatever was nearby groaned in annoyance as she moved, an eye looking at her.

"You really need to stop moving about without knowing what's around you," the voice said, Jess instantly telling it was Black Fang. He moved his paw, which was what had been on her stomach. He moved up behind her, helping her sit up. Although, he wasn't in the best condition either since he protected her from that bolder. So he also had pain running through his back.

"You don't seem to be in top shape either. What exactly happened after I fell?" she asked, Black Fang telling her about the boulder that came down after her fall. She was unconscious, so she couldn't really get out of the way. "So you used yourself to protect me?"

"Like you, I don't want my Master to die," he said, Jess smiling and patting him on the head.

"Thanks, you're always looking out for me. Even when I stupid things like this," she said, Black Fang smirking.

"Don't go soft on me, please. That's the last thing I would want happen," he said, Jess giving him a slight knock on the head before standing up, having some trouble holding her balance. But she was able to stand just fine and stared looking around the place. She noticed old ruins of houses along the river, looking like they were destroyed in a flood.

"This looks like it was some kind of village or something. Who would make a village right next to a river that could easily go over?" she wondered, Black Fang looking around.

"It wasn't their choice. I remember this place from when I flew over it 60 years ago. The village was filled with people that had to run away from their home village and find refuge some place they couldn't find them. Some of them were thieves, others were just normal villagers who have been accused for something they didn't do," he explained, Jess looking around a bit more.

"Must've been hard in those times. Even now people get accused of things they might not have done, but in my time, you have a lot of people going against you and standing up for you to prove whether you've done it or not," she said, Black Fang looking surprised.

"Your era sounds odd," he said, Jess laughing slightly. She looked around, trying to find some sign that Sesshomaru was nearby. Black Fang looked around as well, but neither of them found anything. "Damn, the river is mixing up all the scents. I couldn't even smell a bleeding man if he just got cut a few seconds ago,"

"That's one way to describe something," Jess said, not wanting that image in her head right now. She looked around a bit more, noticing something a few meters from the river. She walked over, trying to get a better view. As she got closer, she was it was a piece of a kimono. She kneeled down, picking it up and looked closer at it.

"This…defiantly belongs to Sesshomaru," she whispered to herself, calling Black Fang over. He did so without much hesitation, Jess holding up the piece of cloth. "Think you could figure out where he is with the help of this? It seems pretty dry,"

"Maybe, but the scent might be old by now. I'll give it a try at least," he said, sniffing the piece of cloth and then sniffing the air to see if he could pin-point where exactly Sesshomaru was. After about 2 minutes, he started slightly jogging along the river line, Jess getting up and following him. "Think I've got something. Don't get your hopes up, though. It could be something else,"

"I know, just lead the way," she said, not caring much about what could happen now. As they walked, she felt eyes on her from somewhere in the shadows on the other side of the river. She didn't pay much attention to locating whoever was following them, but didn't really let her guard down either. However, as they kept walking, the one following them quickly jumped over the river and followed right behind her. Black Fang had noticed it as well, stopping in his tracks.

"I don't think we can ignore it like this," he said, Jess nodding as she backtracked her steps and got ready her sword. As she moved closer, whoever was following her started feeling a little unsafe and backed off a bit.

"No point in running away now, might as well show yourself," she said, the figure freezing and sighing.

"You've got a sharp eye for a Human. Nice to see someone with some sense," the person said, moving towards her. She narrowed her eyes, not recognizing the man. His hair was white, with a few red stripes going the opposite way. He had a red kimono on with a sort of hood which he had on. He carried a sword in his hand, holding it very tightly.

"Who are you? You don't look like the Demons I've seen," she asked, not letting her guard down.

"MY name is Shoei, I'm from a clan that's allied with the Nura Clan," he said, Jess looking surprised. She knew that they still had a alliance with Sesshomaru, so she couldn't really attack him without reason. "You seem a little less serious now. Maybe you're the girl that Demon was mentioning,"

"What Demon?" she asked instantly, not thinking through what he was saying properly. He looked over at her, looking deep into her eyes before smirking.

"To think a girl that's not even considered adult in their rules is a puppet of a Demon. Then again, you would be an adult for Demons," he said, Jess eyes widening. "If you know who I'm talking about now, follow me. Your little pet can join us as well," he said, Black Fang growling. Jess put her hand on his snout, calming him down.

"I don't trust him as easily as you," he snapped, not liking where this was going.

"I don't really trust him either, but he's the only one who has any clue to if Sesshomaru is even alive," she said, Shoei walking closer and putting a hand around her waist.

"Well, shall we go?" he said, getting ready to jump. "You can follow by yourself, can't you?" he taunted Black Fang, who stared growling again. He smirked and jumped, the Demon wolf following quickly behind him.

* * *

**Well, I'll stop here. Sorry that is taking so long, but I've really got little time to write. Hope you all understand. Anyway, leave a review and I'll see ya next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys back with more. I've been very busy and writing whenever I can, so I hope I'll be writing a lot more on the week I have off now. Even though I was able to post two chapters in relatively close to each other, I might not be able to do that again. Anyway, let's get this underway!**

**Thanks a lot for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or Nurarihyon no Mago**

**Naraku's Plan**

* * *

Shoei was jumping from tree to tree, still holding Jess and Black Fang following them from above. He told them that he knew where Sesshomaru was and that alone was enough for Jess to go along with him. Although she didn't trust him, she needed to know if her Master was dead or not. And so far, all she had found was a piece of cloth that belonged to his kimono.

"How much further is it, exactly? Feels like you've been running and jumping forever," she asked, Shoei looking down at her.

"Impatient?" she asked, only getting a glare from the girl. "Not really, that Demon trying to kill him really wanted him 100 % gone. They've been tracking him somehow and only recently found a place to heal his wounds. So I helped him get rather far away. You should understand that," he said, Jess nodding slightly.

Black Fang was keeping up from above, seeing something or someone flying towards them. He narrowed his eyes to see a bit better, growling. He dived down and flew as close to them as he could.

"One of Naraku's Demons are coming straight towards us," he said, Shoei looking at him.

"Black Fang, see if you can get her off course and lead her the wrong way. We'll go meet up with Sesshomaru," Jess said before any of them could start an argument. He nodded and gave a small growl at Shoei. He just smirked it off and picked up the speed to make it a bit more deceiving. As Black Fang went back up and did a summersault, he saw the Demon closer. She was flying on a feather and was wearing a dancer kimono. Her hair was black, and her eyes red.

"Well well, the mutt came out," she whispered, Black Fang speeding off like he was trying to get away from her. He knew how to act, that's for sure. She followed him without a second thought and even smirked. He can't get rid of me that easily. She thought, Black Fang trying to hide his own smirk.

As he lead Kagura further and further away, Shoei slowed down a bit and finally landed on the ground. He let go of Jess and looked around in case other Demons were nearby.

"Well, seems clear. You see anything?" he asked, Jess shaking her head as she looked around. She was mostly thinking about making sure her Master was still OK. And according to Shoei, he was.

"So where is Sesshomaru? I don't sense any Demons nearby other than you," she asked, getting a smirk from him.

"That's the point, then no one would be able to locate him. It wouldn't have been any use if we couldn't 'disguise his presence' in a way," he explained, Jess narrowing her eyes slightly. She was still wondering if she should trust him or not.

"You make it sound like I'm a wounded puppy that needs to stay hidden for its wound to get healed," someone said behind them, Jess turning around instantly and seeing a alive and somewhat uninjured Sesshomaru.

"You were in the beginning. If I weren't there when you fell, you would've been dead by now," he said, Jess not saying word. Sesshomaru looked back at her, walking towards her and stopped beside her. He moved his hand and patted her head, waking her up slightly.

"You should have more faith in me, seeing how I'm your Master," he said, already knowing she thought he was dead. Jess only nodded slightly, not really daring to talk since she was very sure her voice wouldn't come out like she would want it to.

"Well, how about we get out of this area and get some other place before that Demon realizes your little pet was drawing her away. And I don't think she'll be too happy about that," he pointed out, Sesshomaru turning to look at him.

"No, we're not going to go hiding. We need to figure out what exactly Naraku plans to do with the help of Jess's sword. He's already brought back the Band of Seven, which are powerful enough as it is. Not to mention the fact that they get help from the Sacred Jewel Shards," he said, Jess nodding and finally saying something.

"Either he's really power hungry, or there's something about the sword that he needs," she said, Sesshomaru looking at her. She noticed his gaze, looking a little confused. "What?"

"Nothing, let's just figure out where to start. You've got any ideas, Shoei?" he asked, the Demon closing his eyes.

"Not really. Maybe if we found out where he is, it would be easier. Maybe that Demon that we had to lead away can lead us to him. Though, that depends on where Black Fang led her to," he said, Jess nodding slightly. Sesshomaru looked at them, not too sure what they were talking about.

"Well, we could probably start by getting someplace where we can actually look for someone. Staying down here won't help," Jess said, both of them nodding slightly. They started walking, Jess staying close behind Sesshomaru.

"Jess," he said quietly, making her stop in her tracks and looked surprised. She asked what it was, Sesshomaru turning to look her in the eyes. She froze when he did, still wondering what he was going to say. He moved to her ear, whispering and breathing softly. "Sorry, for making you feel guilty about what happened," Jess's eyes widen, not saying a word as he stated walking again.

"Well, there's something you don't hear from him every day," Flarenix said, Jess nodding mentally as she jogged up to make sure she didn't fall behind.

* * *

Rikuo and the rest kept walking along the edge of the cliff, trying to locate Jess, Sesshomaru and now Shoei, the one Demon who had gone missing. Kurotabo looked down the cliff, not seeing much because of the fog.

"Man, who knows how deep that is. What do you think?" Kejoro asked, Kurotabo shaking his head. Kubinashi looked back at them, asking them to hurry up.

"Yeah, yeah, stop nagging. It's not like we'll find them any faster by rushing. Who knows, they might even have gone down here looking for something. Or fell down after a fight. Don't you think we should check it out?" she pointed out, not too happy about being nagged at.

"There is a chance for that, but we'll come back for that if they're nowhere else. Going down there wouldn't be too smart seeing how we can't see a damn thing," he said, not letting her whining get to him. She pouted and the two caught up with the rest, Tsurara walking beside Rikuo.

"Young Master, do you think that something might have happened to Sesshomaru? I mean, he would've sent word if he wasn't able to get back, wouldn't he?" she asked, Rikuo not answering right away. He was in his own world, thinking about how to actually go about this. _We can't just rush in if something has happened. Even though they might need help, we might also fall into enemy trap. So we need to think of how we're supposed to go about this. _He thought, looking back at her.

"I don't know, for now. All we can really do is look around for them," he said, Tsurara nodding. "Aotoba, could keep an eye out in case someone tried to sneak up on us. We wouldn't want to have to go back with a lot of scars," he asked, Aotoba nodding and looked around, Kejoro and Kurotabo walking up until they were in front of him. Kubinashi was walking beside him.

"Young Master, where are we even going? I feel like we've been walking aimlessly around this world," Kejoro complained, Rikuo's eyes catching something between the trees.

"Shh," he said, going to hide behind the closest tree and looking trough the leaves. The others did the same, seeing a man with a small girl holding a mirror beside him. _Who is that? Could that be…Naraku? _Kurotabo thought, hearing footsteps from their right. They looked over, Rikuo recognizing the man. _That's then one that took Jess, Bankotsu. Why is he here?_ He thought, getting his answer rather fast.

"Sorry, Naraku. Seems like they're really good at hiding. I couldn't find any trace of the girl," he said, Naraku not saying anything. "What's so special about her anyway, other than her sword. If Sesshomaru isn't dead, you can't use it,"

"The swords ability is not my concern. What lies within it is my goal," he said, catching all of their attention. "A very, very old and powerful Demon sleeps within the sword, and it's power is far beyond what that girl is able to control. If I get control of a Demon like that, then I'll be unstoppable. Even the Sacred Jewel stood no chance against that Demon," he said, making Bankotsu a little confused.

"I thought the Sacred Jewel could make anything happen," he asked, Naraku nodding.

"It can, but that Dragon had a similar power with a gem it had long ago, before being trapped within the sword. Where that gem is now, no one but she knows. That gem is almost as powerful as the Sacred Jewel, and it is strong enough to have its effect useless against the bearer," he said, Bankotsu scratching the back of the head.

"So it's the Demon and the gem you're interested in, not the girl. Isn't there a way to just get her hands off the sword?" he asked, Naraku telling him that Jess was still needed since she had a stronger bond with Flarenix than any other Master of the sword had before her. Bankotsu looked at him for a bit, thinking about something.

"If there's something you wish to know, just ask. I'm sure I'll be able to answer your question," Naraku said, Rikuo narrowing his eyes.

"What are you planning on doing with her after you've gotten what you want?" he asked, Naraku staying silent for a bit.

"So far, I haven't decided. Why? IS there something you would like with her, Bankotsu? Or maybe you just thought I was just going to dispose of her right away. Even without that Demon, she has a special talent for fighting with a sword. Even if she loses her ability to control flame, she's still a skilled swordsmen," he said, Bankotsu looking back at him.

However, their conversation was stopped by a new entry of someone flying on a feather. Naraku looked up, looking both happy and unhappy.

"Well, Kagura. Have you seen anything of Sesshomaru or the girl?" he asked, Kagura sweating a bit.

"I saw her little pet, but he purposely lead me away from her most likely. I don't know where they are now, and he got away as well. I didn't think that finding a mutt that big would be any problem at all, but he's tricky," she reported, Bankotsu smirking and turned his back to them.

"I'll take another look around for them, have Jakotsu and Renkotsu to help as well. We also need to find Suikotsu so we can start giving him something to do," he said, disappearing into the mist. Naraku didn't look to happy, probably because he never really said why he wanted to know what he was planning on doing with Jess afterward.

"Young Master, we should get going before he notices us," Aotoba said, Rikuo nodding as they quickly and quietly moved away. After they thought they were safe, a blade was swing at them from behind, forcing them to jump in different directions. The sound caught Naraku's attention, Rikuo a bit worried if he was going to see what was going on.

"My my, if it isn't the young Demon from before. Even as a young Human, you look very dashing," he heard a familiar voice say, a little creped out. This is one guy I could've fine gone without seeing again. He thought, seeing Tsurara and Aotoba nearby.

"Listen, if we go this way and leave the others, he'll follow me. That way, we can get out of here without needing to fight him off," he said, the others nodding as they got up and started running. Just like he thought, Jakotsu followed them without a second delay. Hearing Kurotabo and the others calling behind them didn't slow them down, as he hoped they would understand what he was trying to do.

"Young Master, are you sure they'll be OK? I mean, that guy who was talking didn't seem Human, and he looked strong too," Aotoba asked, Rikuo nodding and said that he was hoping they would understand what they were doing so they would go the opposite direction.

"It's a long shot, but I think they will. They should know by now that the Young Master wouldn't abandon his subordinates without a good reason. They'll probably keep looking around for Sesshomaru, Jess and Shoei. Though I would be just fine not seeing that stupid Demon who treats her with no respect," she said, Rikuo not answering. He was worried about both, but mostly Jess and Shoei.

* * *

**OK, I'll stop here. I've been writing less and don't really update often, but I try to. Sorry for making you all wait a long time before a new chapter comes. But, that aside, please leave a review and I'll see ya next chapter!**


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